


Me the Machine

by mortenavida



Series: Me the Machine: A Detroit Story [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Interrupted Sex, M/M, Not Really Character Death, Oral Sex, POV Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Temporary Character Death, bloodhound sumo, canon-compliant AU, heavy thoughts on humanity and life, human and android connor, human and android hank, reverse au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-04-07 12:55:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19085482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortenavida/pseuds/mortenavida
Summary: Life with Hank is perfect, according to RK800 Connor. Five years after the revolution and they’re the leaders of a new task force, they share a home together, and they’re lovers. But when Connor wakes up, back in the middle of Markus’ revolution, he has to rethink what “perfect” means regarding his relationship and what it really means to behumanin this new era. If he can survive it, that is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Graffiti2DMyHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graffiti2DMyHeart/gifts), [LalaLaurie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LalaLaurie/gifts).



> What? This isn't Marvel based fic?! Yep, it's true! This was written for the HankCon Bang and if you regulars haven't played (or watched -- youtube has plenty of LetsPlayers!) Detroit: Become Human, I highly recommend it! It's a fantastic story and the characters are not only memorable, but you feel for them so much.
> 
> I have so much love for my artist [sloormp](https://sloormp.tumblr.com/) and the absolutely amazing artwork that was created. Look for them in the side-stories!
> 
> This fic was also created for my roommate and soul sister LaLaLaurie as a Christmas present (and late birthday). It will be told in two fics (they will become part of a series if you want to subscribe to that instead of just this). This is the main fic, and the other is all the side-stories I wrote for it. I'll post them as they come up in the storyline (letting you guys know when they take place as well).
> 
> There are 13 chapters in the main fic and they will be posted every two days. Hope you enjoy!

The Rogue criminal ran faster than they were used to. Usually, Connor could keep up with anyone they chased, but there was something different about this one. At the last chase they had with this particular Rogue, Hank yelled out that he had seen the thing _disappear_ , which wasn’t at all possible. No living thing - machine or human - just disappeared. Connor knew because he had immediately done a search as soon as the words were out of Hank’s mouth. Impossible.

But as Connor jumped another roof only to find no trace of the Rogue, he started to wonder if maybe it were possible. The muddy boot prints again stopped midway through the roof with no indication of a door or other exit. Something did not add up, and it frustrated Connor more than anything that he couldn’t figure it out. There had to be a logical explanation, he just couldn’t _see_ it. Four times meeting with this Rogue and nothing made sense still.

“Connor!”

As usual, Hank managed to catch up by taking shortcuts. While Connor followed directly behind, Hank did his best to see where the perp was heading to try and cut him off. If he didn’t manage to get in front of the chase, he was never that far behind. Connor did a quick check that Hank was okay - elevated heart rate and lack of breath from running, sweat on his brow due to heat, and a limp in his left leg from an unknown source - before squatting down to take a closer look at the last of the prints.

“This is the third time we’ve missed him,” he said, tilting his head so his memory could obtain all angles. “We’re missing something.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Hank stood and rested his hands on his hips as he leaned back to crack his back. “I’m getting too old for this.”

“I think you should--”

“I’m not making an appointment to crack my back,” Hank interrupted. “Quit telling me to.”

Connor stood and moved to the edge of the roof. He knew he wasn’t going to find any more evidence, but he had to try. “Your health is important to me.”

“Yeah...” Hank let out a sigh. “I know, I get it. If you can’t fix it, I’ll go. Better?”

“A bit,” Connor admitted, giving Hank a smile. “But I’m doing a full diagnostic.”

“Tch.” Hank waved him off and pulled out his phone. “Just get what you need and let’s go home. Sumo’s probably itching to get outside.”

“I’ll be just a moment longer.”

Connor, model Rk800 of CyberLife’s Prototype Program was just one of many androids that became Deviant during the Android Revolution. He had been one of the few prototypes not designed by Kamski - the “father” of androids - and was built specifically to hunt down and destroy Deviants. However, the plan backfired the moment Connor met Hank and started the bulk of his mission. Sure, he had found the Deviant models, but it had taken a toll on his software stability and, in the end, he had joined with Markus to liberate their people.

Now, five years later, Connor and Hank still worked the streets of Detroit to bring in criminals of both species. Some called the android criminals Deviants still, but with the media’s help, that term changed to “Rogue.” Not long after, it stuck for any kind of criminal; Hank and Connor became the first official human-android team in the newly formed Detroit Rogue Unit. No matter the species of Rogue, they were usually the first ones called to handle the tougher situations.

A disappearing Rogue was definitely a tougher situation. One that constantly had Connor questioning if he was missing some kind of programming. He would have to check with the department mechanic later, perhaps.

Hank’s hand pressed against Connor’s back and he turned his head to look at the older man. “Come on, Connor,” he said before jerking his head back toward a doorway. “Let’s get out of here. Let the second team do the deeper scans of this place.”

Connor didn’t want to, still unable to quite shake the initial programming of “complete the mission.” Still, the thought of Sumo waiting for them and the presence of Hank’s hand on his back let him nod and step away from the building’s corner. He didn’t have to do this alone - there was an entire team that would help him.

“I was going to make chicken and rice for dinner,” he said as Hank opened the roof door for them. “That would help your calorie intake.”

“Forget it. I hear a burger calling my name.”

Connor just smiled, sending their report to the department as Hank led the way out to where another officer had brought them the car.

Sure enough, Hank passed the usual burger cart on their way home, but he didn’t stop. Connor did end up at the stove of their shared home, seasoning the chicken the way he knew Hank liked while Sumo watched him. This was Connor’s favorite part of the day - coming home to the house he shared with his partner and dog. It had started temporarily after the revolution; after all, Connor had nowhere to go once he freed the entire warehouse of androids into Detroit.

So he had gone to all the places he knew Hank frequented in the hopes that he would find him despite the unrest in the city. Sure enough, Hank was standing on the side of the corner next to the closed food truck, as if he were _waiting_ for Connor to show up. The hug that he had been pulled into was unexpected but welcome. It was the first real physical human-type interaction Connor had, and he just wanted more. Physical contact had never been on the priority list for him, but Hank’s arms held tightly around him made Connor want to put it at number one.

Hank had driven them to the house, where Sumo immediately put his paws on Connor’s chest and did his best to lick every part of his face he could. Connor had laughed then - not because his programming had told him he had to, but because he _wanted_ to. Laughter indicated joy, and the smile that he saw on Hank’s face was more than worth the fight he had gone through. He was _free_.

It quickly became apparent that the city was in danger, though. With androids now free, the unemployed rate skyrocketed and businesses failed because people were too scared to leave their homes. Connor watched this play out for a while, not sure how he could help the situation, but he knew he had to do something.

He had called Markus first and the two compared concerns over the situation. When Markus suggested that the androids clean up the city, many were hesitant, but Connor agreed. The two of them, joined by Josh, Simon, and North, began right on the battlefield where the human army was still in the process of tearing down the camps. With the world watching, they simply asked what they could do to help.

By the end of the month, other androids and humans alike had joined together to not just clean up the mess caused by the protests, but also repair buildings and houses. People who owned gardens soon came out to sell their food to the human workers and when the demand became too much, they agreed to hire androids to help with the influx.

Slowly over the next year, Detroit healed. It was Hank who suggested D.R.U. shortly after “normal” crimes began happening, and it was Josh who then began his own school for androids. Those who did not want to stay within their programmed task could attend and learn something new. Some androids moved away, and some people returned from Canada, but one thing was obvious: life moved on.

And life had moved on in the Anderson household, too. It wasn’t completely how Connor would like it, but he would take what he could get. For now.

“Hank! Dinner!” He shut the stove off and put a good portion of food onto two plates. He set one on the table, and one on the floor - Sumo wasted no time in eating it.

“I could have just grabbed something,” Hank said, rolling his shoulder as he came into the kitchen. “Smells good, though.”

“I don’t mind cooking.” Connor grabbed a small bottle of Thirium from the cabinet. He didn’t need it, but he knew Hank got uncomfortable if he were the only one eating. “Were you stretching it out?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Hank sat down and reached for the glass of water Connor left for him. “Might need some extra work on it.”

Connor rested a hand on Hank’s shoulder before taking a seat himself. “After dinner.”

“Thanks.” Hank put down his glass and got to eating.

Sumo nudged at Connor’s leg before giving out a small huff. Connor smiled, scratching the top of the dog’s head lightly. Sumo’s tail wagged gently behind him, bits of hair coming off as it waved back and forth.

“I think this Rogue is a street magician,” Hank said once he finished half his plate. “Would explain disappearing on us every chance he gets.”

Connor reviewed a few videos on magicians before nodding. “That seems to be a solid thought. There are multiple ways to make a person disappear, so we’d need to know his trick in order to catch him.”

“Or get really lucky.”

“Yes,” Connor agreed. “Or get really lucky. I don’t like to rely on luck, though.”

Hank downed the rest of his water before leaning back in the chair. “How about you try and figure that out while you’re working this kink out of my shoulder.”

Connor nodded, glad that Hank had gotten over the fact that Connor was going to multitask on certain things. “I’ll clean the kitchen later, then.”

“In the morning,” Hank corrected, giving Connor a smirk. “You’ll get to it in the morning.”

It was one of those nights, then. Connor patted Sumo’s head one more time before following Hank to the bedroom, watching as the older man stripped off his nightshirt. A scattered pattern of scars Connor had long since memorized ran down the other man’s back, and Connor knew the story behind each and every one of them. The time Hank got shot, a bad fall before they even met, a stab wound from a Rogue human just last year... he knew them all.

Hank let himself drop onto the bed, a soft “oof” coming out as he did so. Connor grabbed the muscle lotion in the bathroom before joining him, straddling Hank. He squirted the lotion, tossed the bottle to the side, and then let himself zone out as he gently massaged Hank’s shoulder.

The scar on Hank’s shoulder bothered him the most - a shot through and through right after the android revolution from some scared shopkeeper who saw Connor and panicked. Hank just barely managed to push him out of the way and got hurt in the process. Connor was sure the feeling he tried to process every time he looked at the scar was “guilt,” so he tended not to focus too much when helping Hank ease the pain there.

Tonight he focused on the disappearing Rogue instead. There weren’t many magic tricks documented that could produce the same effects, but there were some that were close enough. He had had to figure out which _one_. What could they use to stop him? Air assistance hadn’t worked on the first chase, and sniffer dogs failed on the second. Could it have been an android? Was there a model Kamski made that he didn’t put on the books? Ever since the revolution, it was illegal to make your own android as reproduction rights went back to them, but maybe someone was working outside the law?

It wouldn’t be the first time, nor the last probably. So if they couldn’t chase the Rogue, why not catch him? Connor quickly searched through the case files, trying to form a pattern of where the Rogue went before he attacked. Always around the same time of day, and always a discounted clothing store. Not much money in the thieving, but there had to be a reason.

“Connor, too hard.”

Connor jerked out of his processes to look down at Hank, frowning. “I’m sorry. I was... thinking too hard.”

Hank shifted so he could lay on his back between Connor’s knees. His hands rested on Connor’s thighs, squeezing them lightly. “You had a thought, then.”

“I did.” Connor rested his hand on Hank’s own. “Or I will. I think I found a pattern regarding the Rogue.”

“Patterns are good, but what does that mean for us?” Hank’s hands traveled up to Connor’s hips.

Connor let the hands guide him and he shifted so he could better settle himself on top of Hank. He didn’t feel the same sexual needs as Hank did, but he understood the meaning behind the actions. So he allowed Hank this because whatever made Hank happy, made him happy as well. Becoming Deviant those years ago helped him realize just what happiness was, though with Hank it had always been clear.

“If we can’t chase the Rogue, maybe we can trap him.” Connor leaned over as Hank’s hands traveled up his back to pull him closer. “We’ll need to talk to the Chief.”

“Tomorrow,” Hank promised. “After the dishes.”

Connor gave Hank a smile. “After the dishes,” he agreed before leaning in the rest of the way for a kiss.

The exact act of sex was still foreign to Connor, but he knew how to make Hank feel good. Kisses, slight biting - a mix of gentle and on the verge of rough. Tonight, though, Connor wanted to try something different. Usually, he just worked Hank up and used his mouth to finish his partner off. Tonight wasn’t going to _start_ any different at least, but it would hopefully end better.

Connor pressed down against Hank before shifting his hips and pulling a groan from the older man. Once Hank’s head tilted up, Connor moved in to press his lips against the fluttering pulse. Hank’s hands went into Connor’s hair and pulled just gently enough - their signal to keep going. He bit down with only enough pressure to make Hank arch against him.

Hanks pants were in the way for sex, but Connor decided not to worry about that for now. Instead, he reached his hand down and stroked Hank through the soft material. Hank grew harder under his fingers, and his breathing got heavier. Connor moved his lips down Hank’s hairy chest as he finally reached up to pull the sweats off him.

According to the videos Connor had researched, it was still too soon to implement his idea. Instead, he went with what was normal for them. He wrapped a hand around Hank’s erection to position it, and then he leaned in to wrap his lips around the tip. Hank sucked in a breath, one hand gripping the sheets as Connor’s mouth moved further down, swallowing more of him.

As he was designed to do, Connor automatically analyzed the precum that touched his tongue -- too much sodium. Hank was probably sneaking something again. It would be a discussion for later, as Connor found out after their first time together. Hank had just eased Connor’s mouth onto his already leaking erection when Connor had pulled back to let him know about a needed change in diet.

“ _My health isn’t sexy_ ,” Hank had said. “ _Fuck, Connor, don’t analyze me while you’re sucking my dick_!”

Hank still visited the chicken-burger stand - that much Connor knew; he found the wrappers at work all the time. However, he knew sometimes there wasn’t time to worry about heating up leftovers between arresting Rogues and filing paperwork. Still, this was too much sodium. It had to be something else.

“Fuck...”

Connor glanced up at Hank, taking account of his quickened breaths and slight sweat on his brow. His dick was also twitching, so Connor knew that if he wanted to try his idea, now was the time to do it. Slowly, he took a small bottle out of his pants (he had been carrying this for some time) and squeezed it onto his fingers. Once they were coated with the lubrication, he brought his fingers between Hank’s legs and ran them over his hole.

Hank jerked, letting out a swear and pushing on Connor’s head. “The hell was that?” he asked - concerned, but not moving any further away.

“I thought we would try something new.” Connor wiped off the fluids that trailed down his chin. “Was that not good?”

“It’s...”

Connor looked down at his hand, then back up to Hank. “Not to your preferences.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“I understand.” Connor updated Hank’s preferences and wrapped his lubricated hand around Hank’s waning erection. “Let me finish this.”

Hank stared at Connor for a long moment before falling back onto the bed. He wasn’t as loud as Connor sucked him off, but he still ejaculated and that was good.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeffery, the Chief of Detroit Police, leaned back in his chair, watching Hank and Connor through his steepled fingers. Even though Hank and Connor were the heads of D.R.U., they still had to report to the Chief regarding their cases and materials needed. Connor had explained what they figured out, and detailed his plan - they were just waiting for the approval.

“You sure this is going to work?” he asked, not moving his hands. “This is a risky plan.”

“It has a --”

“Don’t give me the percentages, Connor.” Jeffery finally dropped his hands and leaned forward in his chair. “Just tell me. Do _you_ think this is going to work?”

“I am aware of the consequences if this plan fails,” Connor said. “However, I believe it will work.”

The aging man pulled up a map of the city, looking over the spots Connor had highlighted. “What a day... Get out of here. You’ll have your team in three hours.”

It would be plenty of time. According to all of the data they gathered so far, the Rogue wouldn’t hit the next store for another five. The two-hour window would let them get the team caught up on the plan and put them in place with Hank and Connor in the main position. Everything had to be perfect, set up in a way that failure was slim. Even so, Connor made sure that they had a tracking tagger set up so if the Rogue ran, they could at least try that.

“Hank!”

Connor shut the door to the Chief’s office as Gavin waved them over to his desk. Connor still didn’t enjoy being in the man’s company, but he had turned his attitude around for the most part. It probably helped that he eventually got his own android partner - a newer model of Connor named Niles that was found with other RK800 models CyberLife kept hidden.

The 800 models were unusable since CyberLife didn’t want multiples of him running around unless needed, so Hank had them transported to a holding facility to use for spare parts in case Connor ever got hurt and they needed to replace a leg unit or something else. Chasing Rogues had plenty of opportunities for him to get hurt, so he didn’t argue too much against it - so far he hadn’t needed to use any of them. Unique models didn’t have extra parts made unless they broke - it was something he and Markus shared during the Revolution. Sure, there were parts that were compatible, but they would never be perfect.

After the Revolution, Markus refused to replace his imperfect parts -- choosing instead to keep the ones he found in the junkyard. It was a way of carrying on the memory of the dead, he had said. After that, he stayed with his old owner, his old friend, until the man died. Markus now used Carl’s home as a headquarters as it was inherited upon Carl’s death.

It had been weird at first seeing his face around in the new model, and it reminded him all too much of the scene in the CyberLife Warehouse, but the Rk900 proved to be different enough that things settled down quickly. Niles even referred to him as his older brother - family. Gavin constantly complained about it, but he didn’t try to change it either.

“We have a plan,” Connor told Niles as he held out his arm.

Niles took it so the data could transfer. “Do you need us?”

“Any help would be welcome if you aren’t busy with another case.”

“I’m sure I can convince Gavin to help.” Niles lowered his arm before looking over to their partners discussing things over a desk. “Hank has--”

“I’ve noticed,” Connor interrupted. “When I try to bring it up, he changes the subject.”

“I’m sorry.” Niles reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Connor turned the envelope over, seeing nothing but his name across the front.

“Gavin told me that it’s a requirement you bring someone gifts on their birthday. I missed yours, so sorry it’s late. This is from both of us.”

Connor nodded. “Thank you, Niles. I look forward to opening it when we get back. I’ll ask Hank if it’s true and let you know.”

“I understand. There’s much to do.” He hesitated before adjusting the collar of his uniform. “I have no reason to believe Gavin would lie to me.”

“Of course.”

“Connor, Niles.” The two turned to look at Hank as he pulled on his assigned uniform jacket. “Come on, we’re heading out to the site.”

“I suppose I don’t need to ask him after all,” Niles said as he walked around Connor to follow Gavin toward the door. “We’ll see you there.”

“He’s still a prick,” Hank said, resting a hand low on Connor’s back. “Didn’t even ask, just came over and started criticizing our plans.”

“Did you listen to them?”

Hank scoffed, leading Connor toward the garage. “I’ll take his suggestions into consideration.”

Connor held the door open for Hank. “We’ll have time in the car to decide.”

From the set of Hank’s face, he had already decided to ignore whatever Gavin told him. Connor thought about convincing him to think about it, but he knew Hank would just shut it down.  He didn’t want to acknowledge he was getting older any more than Connor did. A persistent limp appeared in his gait, and every now and then his hand would shake just slightly. He hid both as well as he could, but...

One day, he would need to train Gavin and Niles on the job. That one day was coming up soon and Connor wasn’t sure how to bring it up without Hank getting upset and blowing him off to go stare at a full glass of whiskey at Jimmy’s Bar.

The feeling that coursed through him, according to Markus, was _fear_. Connor was afraid of Hank’s death and what that would bring for him. He knew Hank would die one day as humans had short lives, so the fear shouldn’t have been such a surprise. Just like Sumo would also die and Jeffery and Gavin... Connor couldn’t help the fear, though.

For now, he got into the driver’s seat and let Hank absentmindedly put a hand on his leg for the drive. They would discuss this eventually, he was sure. Connor just wasn’t sure when that eventually would be.

An hour later and the team had been set up faster than anticipated, which was a good thing in the end. It meant that someone noticed the Rogue casually strolling down the street, hood over his face as usual, before the actual time he typically hit. Connor was sure that he was just looking over the place before making his move, but he wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass. He watched from the back of a secured van as the Rogue moved further into their trap.

When he stood as close to the center of their agents as possible, Hank gave the word and the entire street of officers turned, guns out and yelling at the Rogue to stand down and put his hands up. Connor had already left the van and made his way through the officers, holding his hands up to the Rogue.

“There’s no use running,” he said, catching sight of Niles behind the Rogue to block the alley. “We just don’t want anyone else hurt.”

The Rogue chose to spit at Connor; it was human, and that surprised him somehow. The way the Rogue moved reminded Connor of an android more than a human, but he was sure it could happen. He brushed the bit of liquid off his jacket before moving even closer.

“You’re under arrest. Any-hey!”

The Rogue took off running, knocking a few agents around him so there wasn’t a clean shot. When he saw Niles, he turned sharply and jumped up to the nearest fire escape, climbing up quickly. Connor was already just a few feet behind him with Niles finding another way to climb up. A few officers went into the building itself while Hank hollered something from the street. Connor was too focused on trying to calculate better ways to get ahead of the Rogue to pay attention to what he said.

“Stop!” Niles rolled onto the roof and pulled out his gun, aiming it at the Rogue’s feet. He fired a few times, making warning shots instead of anything that would actually hit. When the D.R.U. first started, the public’s first outcry was Deviants handling guns that could harm a human, so strict rules were set in place about where any officer, not just Deviants, could shoot a Rogue. Warning shots first, then into the knees or arms.

The warning shots had no effect - the Rogue jumped onto a neighboring roof. Connor motioned for Niles to go to another roof to try to get ahead while he followed directly.

“ _Connor, report_!” Hank’s voice in his head through their walkie system was still new, but Connor had to admit it was useful. “ _We lost sight_.”

“Still in pursuit. Niles is trying to get ahead of him.”

Connor turned and just barely put his arms up in time to stop a two-by-four hitting him square in the face. He stumbled back as the Rogue went on the attack, eventually sweeping Connor’s feet out from under him. He jumped onto Connor’s chest and pulled off the hood of his jacket.

The fight went out of Connor and he stared, wide-eyed, at himself. It wasn’t Niles and it wasn’t _exactly_ him, but the Rogue wore his face. Connor opened his mouth, then closed it as too many questions began to pile into his processors. He had shot this Rogue before, it bled red - not blue.

“How...?” was the only question he could get out.

“You need to understand,” the Rogue said, his voice the same as Connor’s, but warmer. More _human_. “I’m sorry to do it this way, but you _need_ to understand this.”

“Understand what?” Connor asked.

“I’m sorry,” the Rogue said again.

Before Connor could stop him, the Rogue reached out and pressed a disk to Connor’s temple. Immediately, his body froze and he could feel things shutting down. He tried to call out for Hank, tried to do _anything_ besides just lay there and die, but he couldn’t. Whatever the Rogue used, it was something they had never seen before.

Connor’s last thought, before the last of his processes shut down, was of Hank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!! Stay tuned for Chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

“Lieutenant!”

The slap came hard, stinging Connor’s cheek and causing him to jerk awake. He held a hand up to rub at his cheek, though he hesitated when he felt the stubble of hair there. Maybe he had fallen in something and it stuck to him? But then why did the side of his face  _ hurt _ . Why were his legs cold? Androids weren’t programmed to know what that felt like except for the YK’s. 

So why did he just  _ know _ that his legs were cold?

“What happened?” he asked, vision twisting. That had to be wrong too - his visual receptors must have been damaged chasing the Rogue. “Hank?”

Strong arms lifted him easily from an unfamiliar floor. “I believed you to be injured, so I apologize about the window.”

The voice was Hank’s, but the tone wasn’t. Connor opened his eyes again to stare at Hank -- except  _ it wasn’t Hank _ . The hair had been pulled back into a small ponytail, and his usual messy beard had been neatly trimmed close to his face. He looked like some of the Android models CyberLife had made specifically for snowy regions and outside labor.

Not-Hank also wore Connor’s old CyberLife jacket down to the stiff tie around his neck. Had he missed something? Did they shut him down longer because he was hurt? Hank had once worn the jacket for the Halloween holiday, but they hadn’t managed to get outside the bedroom to show anybody.

He looked around the unfamiliar, neat kitchen, eyes settling on the open window with the glass below it. Connor felt something strange coursing through him, the heart in his chest gaining weight unexpectedly. He put a hand over his chest, then realized that something inside him had stopped working.

“Breathe,” not-Hank said, putting a hand over Connor’s. “Lieutenant, you need to  _ breathe _ .”

Connor sucked in a breath then and his knees shook beneath him. Androids didn’t need to  _ breathe _ . They didn’t need ‒ they didn’t need what? Connor couldn’t look up the words he wanted to use. The heart in his chest felt as if it were now growing smaller and the skin around his parts getting tighter.

Not-Hank picked him up easily and that just made Connor panic more. And he  _ knew _ he was panicking ‒ what else could be happening? Hank had explained it to him once when he thought Connor was dying, what it felt like to panic. This felt like what he described and Connor had no idea how to get ahold of it.

“Sorry, Lieutenant,” not-Hank said before gently dropping Connor into the bathtub. 

When the freezing water hit him, it did something to knock Connor’s systems into gear. He yelled as the water first hit, but then he took his first breath, then another, and another. Under the spray, his mind cleared and he felt his systems working again. Not really his systems, but  _ something _ worked. 

He licked his lips to try and analyze the water, see if he could figure out what house they were currently in, but he got nothing. Not but the slight taste of grime and water. Connor looked back up at not-Hank, breaths coming fast through him.

“What  _ happened _ ?”

Not-Hank leaned over to turn off the water and that’s when Connor saw it ‒ a blinking blue LED. Most androids had gotten rid of theirs after the revolution, though some kept them as a comfort. Hank had taken his out personally and tossed it over a bridge. Connor hadn’t seen another LED even near the house in three years.

“I can only assume that you were injured after trying to reach something in your kitchen,” not-Hank said. “There were no disturbances at the scene when I arrived and Sumo did not seem upset that I was breaking the window to help.”

“Sumo.” Connor rubbed the water out of his eyes. “Sumo doesn’t get upset. Sumo... what?”

“He is outside making sure we are safe.” Hank helped Connor sit on the edge of the tub.

“Making sure we’re safe?” Connor looked down and hesitated at the bulge between his legs. That wasn’t normal; he knew what it was, but he also knew that he did  _ not _ have one. Some androids with human lovers opted to get the Traci model upgrades, but Connor hadn’t seen a point and Hank didn’t argue.

He poked at the bulge, not sure what he was expecting. It was spongy, and he definitely felt something, so it was attached to him. Connor stood and pulled back to the band on his sweats so he could stare down at the penis hanging between his legs. Did Hank actually want him to have it and got it done while he was asleep?

“Lieutenant, we have an update on our case,” not-Hank said, pulling Connor’s attention away from his pants. “You should get dressed.”

“On the Rogue?”

Not-Hank tilted his head. “On the Deviant situation.”

Connor let the band of the sweats snap back onto him and he hissed at the pain that came. “The Deviant situation,” he repeated. “Hank, what situation?”

Not-Hank leaned closer, the LED spinning against the side of his head. “I think you hit your head a bit too hard. Are you well enough to be on this case? I thought you would enjoy it as it is at a local strip club.”

“No, I’m fine.” Whatever was happening, Connor wanted to stay close to not-Hank so he could figure the situation out. “I should get dressed.”

“I’ll get you some clothes while you relax here. If you have an injury, you shouldn’t move so much.”

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” Connor insisted, voice harsher than intended.  _ Frustration _ , his mind supplied. He was frustrated. Connor ran a hand through his hair and tugged at the strands, wincing as it sent a sting of pain across his head.

What was happening? He couldn’t even connect to the grid to call Niles - or even Gavin at this point. On top of that, his stomach hurt and made a noise that Connor knew meant that he was hungry. But how did he know that?

“I found some clothes.” Not-Hank placed a neatly folded pile next to the sink. “Are you sure you are okay to do this?”

“I’m sure,” Connor lied. “I’m fine.”

Not-Hank looked him over before turning around. “I’ll make sure Sumo is ready to go, then.”

Connor didn’t even want to argue that point. The dog was lazier than anything and that’s exactly how he liked Sumo. What reason was there to take him anywhere? Ignoring his shaking hands, Connor quickly got dressed in the clothes not-Hank brought him. They weren’t his style - a tight-fitting pair of jeans with a button-down topped off with a dull leather jacket - but it was comfortable enough.

“Okay, Connor. Just ... go figure out what happened.” He looked at himself in the mirror and held back the mild panic when he couldn’t remove his skin. “It’s probably just a malfunction. You’ll get this fixed.”

Determined not to let things bother him, Connor squared his shoulders and left the bathroom. The house looked the same as he remembered, though there were a few more picture frames on the wall. Connor and Niles at a beach (that hadn’t happened), what looked like a younger version of them (that wasn’t possible); Connor ignored them for now and went to the backdoor.

It opened before he got there and a large, brown and black dog with floppy ears and thin tail bounced inside. Connor froze, but the dog immediately came to him and sat at his feet, its tongue lolling out while it stared at him. Confused, Connor looked up to see not-Hank locking the door, unaffected by the beast.

“Hank?”

“Yes, Lieutenant?”

Connor pointed to the dog. “Who is this?”

The LED on the side of not-Hank’s head turned yellow as he looked at the dog. “A Bloodhound, belonging to the hound group in the American Kennel Club. Sumo, a name given to him by his handlers, became a working police dog two years ago and graduated top in his class. He is expected to work with you for another four years before retirement. He has assisted on fifty-eight cases regarding lost children and hiding criminals. Just two months ago, he began his training to find androids and now Deviants. He-”

“That’s good, thanks.” Connor finally said. The dog’s tail beat against the floor a bit before he whined at Connor.

“I told him we were going on a job,” Hank said. “Are we ready?”

Connor wasn’t sure he was ever going to be ready. Everything might look the same on the outside, but the two very different things standing in the house told him that this wasn’t his life. If not-Hank was an Android and not-Sumo was a police dog and  _ both _ of them recognized him, then that meant Connor was the one out of place. Not just out of place, but from all the evidence gathered around him, he was  _ human _ . 

Cautiously, he picked up the wallet on the counter and opened to see his face on a Michigan driver’s license with the name Connor Anderson.  _ Anderson _ . Had he and Hank switched places? Had something else happened? Was this a really messed up glitch dream? Lieutenant Connor Anderson and his android from CyberLife, model Rk800.

Swallowing back the urge to scream until he couldn’t any longer, Connor just gave not-Hank a nod. “We’re ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, if I hadn't already finished this and it was part of a bang, I probably wouldn't complete posting it. I think I'm just too used to bigger communities. XD Oh well, I still am insanely proud of it.


	4. Chapter 4

Connor stared at the flashy lights of the Eden Club, still trying to come to terms with everything that was happening. Not-Hank (Android-Hank, _real_ -Hank now) had explained the situation on the drive to the club and it did nothing but make Connor question things all over again. A patron dead, a Traci model dead, and another missing. This was the exact thing he and Hank had come up to all those years ago, back when Connor only thought of his mission to CyberLife.

He looked back to Hank, wondering if this version of him had the same struggle Connor did. Hank’s face stayed emotionless and it made Connor nervous ‒ was that how he had been toward his Hank? If so, how could Hank have ever decided to care for him? Connor missed the easy smiles his partner gave him, the sharp sarcasm and laughs. Why would Hank look at Connor, who barely understood that, and decide he was worth any of those smiles or declarations of love?

“Lieutenant, are you following?”

Connor nodded and quickly followed Hank into the club, Sumo plodding along beside him. Once they got to the manager, he settled down on the floor and rolled to his side, already asleep. Connor couldn’t hold back the smile that came across his face. While he missed their Sumo, this one was just as good. He really did like dogs.

The speech was the same one Connor remembered from their last trip here. That’s when it hit Connor ‒ a tidbit of information Hank had shared a few years ago. Eden Club had closed its doors after lack of staff to keep it running. Instead, it became another site of Josh’s schools and had become a place where, on the weekends, children could come and learn about androids and the fact that they weren’t as dangerous as some people still assumed. Eden Club wasn’t supposed to be here.

Connor waved off the manager and stepped into the room, hesitating as he saw Gavin wandering around. The man himself looked up, then wrinkled his nose in disgust. Connor held his breath, hoping Gavin’s words would be different.

“Lieutenant Anderson and his plastic pet... The fuck are you two doing here?”

So the same, then. Connor sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but Hank beat him to it.

“We’ve been assigned all cases involving androids.”

Connor looked back at Hank, then back to Gavin as the man mentioned something about a pervert getting action. It didn’t make any sense and he rubbed at his face before stepping further into the room.

“Niles?” Connor asked Gavin, looking around the too-familiar room.

Gavin scoffed. “Your no-good twin? I don’t know, have you checked the drunk tank since yesterday? That’s where you put him.”

“Right,” Connor said. He would check the cells when they got back to the precinct, and that at least answered his question on if his ‘upgrade’ existed here. That still left him wondering why he and Hank were the only ones that seemed affected. “Anyway, this is... Deviant business now. Falls under our orders.”

“So the plastic bastard already said.” Gavin closed his miniature notebook. “Take your own notes.” He pushed into Hank’s shoulder as he passed, muttering something about androids.

Hank just adjusted his coat before kneeling next to the victim on the bed, but Connor didn’t need to hear him say the name - Michael Graham. He knew who this was. He knew _when_ this was, too. He took out the smartphone in his pocket, glad that his human version liked technology a bit more than Hank did, and pulled up the latest news stories.

 _The First Immortals Are Among Us_ ‒ Connor remembered this; it was the first, and only, big mention of the nano-android that never managed to be produced. Mostly out of fear once Markus started his revolution. Another one from _Tech Addict_ was _Secrets of androids_ and Connor had to hold back a laugh. That article had been written just days before everything went crazy and humanity _had_ to coexist.

He searched for any sign of the revolution, but nothing so far. That at least confirmed that things were so far on pace with what he remembered. Markus hadn’t led the revolution yet, Android-Hank would have just started working with him.

Shit.

Not only was Connor in some different timeline where he was a human, but he was also back at the beginning of this mess. He took a deep breath, hand gripping tightly on the phone as he tried to think. What had happened to bring him here? The Rogue had said something about understanding, but _what_ did he have to understand? What was so damned important? And what was the thing the Rogue put against his head?

He didn’t know. But, the one thing he did know was that he couldn’t let Hank find the Deviants. He had found them before and both of them died in the processes ‒ it was one of Connor’s many regrets during the revolution. Maybe that’s why he was here? But why? Markus led a peaceful revolution that in the end gave them their freedom. It had to be about something else, then.

Connor focused back on the crime scene in time to see Hank lick the blood of the dying android and something in his stomach tightened. He _knew_ what Hank was doing, but part of him found it a little disturbing. He needed to stall, that’s all he knew ‒ Connor only had time to find the Deviants before out of pure luck. So if he could stall another five or so minutes, there would be no way to find them.

Hank stood and looked to Connor. “It’s pretty damaged, but I may be able to get information. The connection should give me a few minutes.”

“Let’s wait, then. Take a good look at the room and use her as a last resort.” She was the one that initially told them that there had been two androids, so maybe if Hank didn’t find that out, he wouldn’t search for the other Traci in the first place. The girls could then escape and this mission would be a bust.

The plan had to do for now.

“Tell me what you know about the victim,” Connor said, easing into his new role. “I’m sure you checked him out.”

Hank nodded and stood over the body of Michael. “He didn’t die of a heart attack. He was strangled.”

“That’s obvious, yeah. But that happens often doesn’t it?”

Hank scanned over the body once more before shaking his head. “I don’t think the answer is in the room,” Hank said, turning his focus onto the Traci again. “We need to wake it.”

There wasn’t much of anything else he could do to stop this from happening, so Connor motioned for Hank to go on. “If you think you can do it.”

“I won’t have a lot of time.” Hank knelt next to her, hands hovering over her stomach. “I’ll be fast.”

Connor paced behind him, not looking at the conversation. He heard when the Traci gasped and came awake and when she crawled away from them to press against the wall. Hank quickly hushed her before starting in on his questions.

“Tell me what happened,” Hank demanded, holding onto her arm.

The Traci tried to jerk away from him. “He... started hitting me. Again and again... I begged him to stop, but-”

“What else do you remember?” Hank interrupted. Connor felt bad for the girl - he didn’t remember being this harsh with her. “Who killed that man?”

Even Connor could tell the Traci’s stress level was too high. “I- I don’t know, I was in shut down. I didn’t see her... I don’t know.”

“‘Her’? Was there another android?” Hank leaned closer. “Tell me, we need to find it!”

The Traci open and closed her mouth once before her body stilled and she shut down, overstressed or bleeding out - or both, at this point. Connor looked at his watch, trying to figure out if he had wasted enough time or not. He knew he had another opportunity to stall ‒ if Hank did what he had done, then he could simply not hire the android immediately. Maybe.

“She gave us nothing,” Connor said, turning to Hank. “Damnit.”

“No, she told us another android was here.” Hank stood and turned. “We need to find a witness.”

“That’s going to be hard considering the type of club we’re in.” Connor stepped closer to the android. “Is there any evidence on her?”

“I’ve already checked the android-”

“Check her again.” Connor gave Hank a shrug when he just continued to stare at him. “You never know.”

Hank looked between Connor and the body before kneeling next to her again. “There’s nothing new on it that I didn’t get before.”

“ _She_ -”

“-Is a machine.” Hank stood. “It had a job, and so do I. I need to find a witness.”

Hank walked out of the room before Connor could say anything against it. He quickly followed behind him in an attempt to keep him from going in the direction that would lead him to the Traci.

“There are no witnesses,” Connor said as they stepped outside the private room. “Trust me, men like this don’t want to be seen.” Hank looked around the club, eyeing the androids on display and otherwise ignoring him. “Hank, let’s just talk to the manager.”

But it was of no use ‒ Hank went immediately to a male android on a pole. “Lieutenant, can you-”

“No.” Connor shook his head. “We aren’t here for that.”

“I have an idea,” Hank insisted. “The androids here are wiped every two hours, correct?”

“That’s correct,” the manager said from behind Connor. “But-”

“Then I can see if any of them saw the Deviant.”

Connor looked back to the manager as slow as he could. “Do you happen to know when that wipe happens?”

The manager took out his phone to look at the time, then gave Connor an apologetic shrug. “Two minutes ago.”

Relief came over Connor so fast that it took him a moment to realize what exactly he felt. He just nodded at the manager before turning to look at Hank. “We’re not going to get anything.”

“I wasn’t fast enough,” Hank muttered, looking around the club. “The Deviant could still be here, though. We should search.”

Damn. “That’s a good idea. Start out here and I’ll start in the back. If the Deviant is still working, she would be trying to blend in, right?”

“Potentially,” Hank agreed.

“Okay.” He turned to the manager. “Do you have a back room?”

“Yeah, this way.”

Connor made sure Hank started his search at the front of the club before following the manager to the storage door. He thanked the man before pulling out his gun and going inside. He took a nearby bar and jammed it in the door to slow anyone who tried to come in.

“I know you’re in here,” he said, moving slowly into the room. He held the gun up high before slowly putting it down on a nearby table. “I don’t want to hurt you or the other one. I want to help.”

Connor held both hands up now as he inched further into the dark room. Nothing moved yet, and Connor hoped that the two didn’t hide somewhere else in this version of events. There was no telling, but he hoped that they weren’t out on the floor.

“My name is Connor and my partner’s name is Hank. If he catches you, he _will_ try to bring you in. I don’t want that to happen.” He slid around a table. “I know you know where Jericho is and I want you to get there. Tell Markus he has a friend in the department. _Please_. My gun is by the door and I don’t have another one.”

There ‒ a movement to his right. Connor turned, arms still up and his heart racing in his chest. It was a normal response to a high-stress situation, but it was also a major distraction. He tried to ignore it as best he could and just smile at the two Traci models that came out of the shadows.

“Go out the back now. I don’t know when he’ll try to come here.”

The blue-haired Traci stepped between Connor and the other one. “Why should we trust you?”

“Nothing I tell you will make sense, but just... know that I want your freedom.” Connor slowly lowered his hands. “Now _go_. Find some clothes and get to Jericho.”

The other android pulled on the arm of the blue-haired Traci. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s just go.”

“Go,” Connor said again.

The two stared at him a moment longer before taking off through the rolling door. Connor made sure they were out of sight before heading back into the club, grabbing his gun and pulling the bar off as he went. Thankfully Hank wasn’t outside waiting for him, and he felt a little guilty for deceiving him, but Connor didn’t want him to make the same mistakes that he had.

Back in the main area of the club, Sumo sat just outside the service door, ears perked and head scanning the room. At least he was alert and protective, but Connor wasn’t sure how much more useful he would be. He patted Sumo’s head before heading off to find Hank to let him know that the club was a bust.

As expected, Hank was not happy and he walked off into the night, ignoring Connor’s offer of a ride back to CyberLife. Connor didn’t like watching him go ‒ he wanted Hank back in his arms and in their bed. He wrapped his arms around himself, biting into his bottom lip as the crisp air blew over him.

He never had the yearning to hold Hank before, but if this was what Hank felt all the time, then Connor questioned why he even bothered with an android like him. Connor never initiated couch cuddling, it was always Hank. And now Connor could _feel_ why and he hated it.

Connor let Sumo into the car before getting in on the other side. He knew the house he had to go back to, but he really just wanted to go _home_. This was not home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting 15 minutes early so I can go to bed XD

Even though it had been where Hank threatened to shoot him, Connor’s favorite spot to go was the park that overlooked the bay. Just like the first time he came, when he had been an Android, snow lightly covered the playground. Connor wandered through it slowly, shivering as the cold bit into him. Being a human in this weather sucked; if he ever got home, he was purchasing Hank at least three more sweaters and a heavier coat. A scarf and better gloves would go a long way, too. Anything to keep him from feeling like  _ this _ .

Connor stopped by the swings and pushed at one, listening to the squeal of the metal rubbing together where it attached to the top. He brushed the seat off before taking a seat, wincing as the sides of the metal chain dug into his hips. Sumo came up beside him and huffed before flopping onto the ground, a tuft of snow coming up as he did so.

“Humans are fragile,” Connor told him, speaking softly. “Everything tries to kill them and it’s a wonder they’ve survived this long.”

Sumo blinked at him before yawning and putting his head onto his paws, one of his long ears tucking under his chin. In a way, it was comforting to talk to him.

“I miss Hank. My Hank,” he continued. “I thought I knew what it was to miss someone, but this?” Connor took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he all but tasted the mix of fresh snow and air pollution. “It feels like my chest wants to crack open. And whenever I look at this Hank, his face blank and so  _ calculating _ , I want to... I want to cry.”

Sumo huffed in response. Connor opened his eyes to look at the dog.

“Even you. You’re a  _ good dog _ , but you aren’t  _ our _ dog. You aren’t Sumo.” Connor got his feet under him and pushed back so he could start swinging. “I miss him, too. Even if he ate my shoes and got mad when I took his favorite spot on the bed. I just wanted to be close to Hank, listen to his breathing.”

Connor shut his eyes again as he swung higher, hands almost numb from gripping the chain. The sting of the cold air on his face was an almost welcome distraction from the ache in his chest - whatever could make him stop thinking about it was good right about now. There were no systems to analyze, no part to replace - it was an emotional hurt. 

“I miss kissing his beard,” Connor said, sticking his legs straight out and leaning back so he could get as close to flying as possible. “I miss helping him keep it neat. Human emotions are complicated, Sumo. I don’t know how my Hank does it. Especially since I’m sure I don’t help. I read and studied emotions, sure, but...”

Connor opened his eyes and pumped his legs again, trying to get higher.

“I’m going to see if Hank wouldn’t mind getting a swing in the yard. What do you think?”

“I think you would have very little use for a swing,” a voice, Hank’s voice, said from behind.

Connor forgot to tuck his legs, startled by the suddenness of Hank’s appearance. He tumbled off the swing, rolling through the dirt and snow. He wasn’t sure how many times he turned over, but he just knew that his entire body ached.

And he never felt  _ better _ .

Connor laughed as Sumo howled into the night air. There was a slight  _ ting _ of the dog’s tail hitting against the metal poles of the swing. The snow under him seeped through his jacket, but Connor didn’t even care. He wanted to lay in the park forever, watching the night sky gently drop snow onto the city.

Hank’s face came into his field of vision and Connor looked at him, unable to stop smiling despite everything. Despite knowing that he might have to deal with this Hank for the rest of his life. His mortal life. Connor was going to die and somehow that made him laugh again.

“Are you okay?” Hank asked, kneeling next to Connor’s head now.

“I will be,” Connor said, resting a hand on his stomach. His chest hurt for a different reason now - being unable to breathe through his laughter ached in a new way. “I’ve had a long few days.”

Hank reached a hand out toward Connor. “You shouldn’t lay in the snow.”

Connor was tempted to grab the hand and pull Hank onto the ground next to him, but he knew better. Hank’s systems would be bracing to lift Connor off the ground, so even if Connor tried to pull him down, Hank’s legs would lock.

He took the offered arm and let Hank pull him up. “It wasn’t so bad.”

“Your core temp--”

“Stop.” Connor put his hands on Hank’s shoulders. “I get it now. Humans do strange things, sometimes things that androids can’t comprehend. It’s called  _ living _ .”

“I think we should get you inside,” Hank said. “I saw your car nearby. It should be warm in there if we--”

“Jesus, did I sound like this?” Connor laughed, stepping away from Hank. “I did, didn’t I.” He rubbed a hand over his face. How had Hank ever fallen for him?

“The cold is making you delirious.”

Connor looked back at Hank. Even when they had been in this same park, in opposite positions, Connor didn’t remember being this conscious of Hank’s health. Maybe that meant something? Was it programming or Connor himself? He brushed some snow from his hair before pulling his gun out and clicking the safety off.

“I’m not delirious,” he said. When Hank’s eyes flickered down to the gun, Connor gave him a smile. “I’m not.”

“Lieutenant...”

Connor raised the gun and settled it just under his chin. “What if I pulled the trigger?”

Hank reached a hand out toward him, but didn’t otherwise move. “Lieutenant Anderson, please.”

“Please what, Hank?”

“Lower your weapon. Dying right now won’t solve anything.” Hank took a step closer. “Think... think of Sumo!”

Connor shook his head. “Not going to work, Hank.” He let the Android step even closer, heart racing in his chest. He just wanted one thing, one admission. It was actually thrilling to know Hank hadn’t thought of the mission first.

“We still need you.  _ Please _ .”

Connor pressed the gun further against his chin, digging it into the skin. “I know you don’t care if you die. CyberLife will just send another one out. RK800 part two or three. How many times have you died, Hank?”

Hank hesitated, hand lowering a bit as he processed. “I don’t  _ die _ like you do.”

“A few, then. They have over fifty models of you, Hank. They’re stored in their basement vault, just waiting to be activated with a key. You’re a  _ test _ , Hank. If you work, a Connor unit goes to the major police districts.”

Hank tilted his head. “Connor unit?”

Connor took a step back. “You know what I meant.”

“Amanda--”

“Lies.” Connor put his finger over the trigger. “Why shouldn’t I pull this, Hank?”

“I’ve already told you. We...” Hank looked over Connor and then straightened himself. “ _ I _ need you, Lieutenant Anderson. You are a good partner and I want you to continue this investigation with me.”

Connor didn’t lower the gun, but he did take his finger off the trigger. “Is that it?”

Hank was fighting the programming, Connor could  _ see _ it in his eyes. “I... enjoy having you around.”

“And if I died?”

“It would be disagreeable.”

“Hank.”

Hank stared at Connor before stepping closer and reaching for the gun. Connor let him take it. “I would miss you.”

This was not  _ his _ Hank, but Connor couldn’t help himself. A burning need ran through his body and the urge was too strong. He gripped onto Hank’s CyberLife jacket and pulled him in for a kiss. It was a simple press of lips to lips, awkward in both the best and worst way.

But Connor understood what was probably going through Hank’s processes because the same thing happened the first time Hank kissed him. So he held on, standing in the middle of a park with the snow falling around him. Connor held Hank against him and kept their lips pressed together.

The safety of the gun clicked on before it dropped to the ground. Hank’s arms were around Connor, pulling him up against the hard body. Hank’s mouth opened and Connor didn’t let his chance pass him as he deepened the kiss.

They broke apart when Sumo let out a howl behind them. Connor felt his face heating up as Hank’s hands fell back to his sides. Not wanting to let go, Connor just smoothed over Hank’s jacket, finally stepping back as a jogger ran by them.

“You don’t have to go back to CyberLife,” Connor said. “Come stay with me and Sumo instead.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise.”

Connor took Hank’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I disagree. Come on, it’s getting late. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be another long day.”

“Connor?”

The sound of his name coming from Hank’s mouth, after not hearing it for days, sent a shiver down Connor’s back. He took a steadying breath before looking at him. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Connor smiled and tugged Hank toward his car. “You’re welcome. Sumo! Come on.”

The dog barked and got himself up to follow them to the car. Connor just let himself enjoying their held hands as they walked back through the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a "fun" surprise next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

“Lieutenant?”

Connor looked up from his computer screen at the unfamiliar voice, but then he froze. The face of the android (and it _was_ an android - the blue light on his right temple said as much) was too familiar for this to be a coincidence. He was a typical brown haired, brown eyed boy, but he had a specific look about him. Familiar lines in his face and the dimples in his smile. Connor wanted to reach out, touch him to see if he were actually there, but he held back.

“Cole?” Connor asked instead, afraid to know the answer.

Cole smiled wide, as the younger androids were programmed to do. “I’m glad you remembered! The Chief called me in for her.” He pointed to a girl who was standing near the wall with a woman. Both looked scared, the child more than anybody. “Her mother gets called in for an interrogation and I’m just going to keep her company.”

“Right.” Conner had heard about emotional support androids made specifically to handle scared victims, but he hadn’t seen one before. Most of them had gone off to be normal kids after the revolution, so this was definitely new, and he wasn’t sure how to handle the fact that the male android children were modeled after Hank’s real son. His Hank’s real son. Connor felt sick and he turned back to his computer.

“Can I help with some of your paperwork?” Cole asked. “I don’t need to help them for another half hour.”

“No,” Connor said, almost too quickly. “No, just... go walk Sumo. Make sure he’s ready to go for later.”

“I can do that.” Cole took the leash from the desk and patted his leg. “Sumo, come.”

The bloodhound let out a groan as he stood, but he happily followed Cole outside anyway. Connor watched them go, missing Hank’s Sumo more and more. Their Sumo wouldn’t have followed anybody but Hank or Connor out that door, and even after that, he would have taken off running, happy to be outside and playing. This Sumo was just too stiff for Connor’s taste. He wanted a _dog,_  not a _coworker._

“Connor, your coffee.”

Connor leaned back as Hank put the cup on the desk, forcing his mind off of things he couldn’t change right now. “Thanks.” He wrapped his hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth it gave him. “Any news today?”

Hank looked off into the distance, likely searching news reports for anything that might involve their case. He knew what was _coming,_  but he needed to know if anything else had changed. Well, besides the fact that he and Hank had kissed the night before - that had definitely not happened previously. Part of Connor felt guilty, but the bigger part of him felt shame. Shame that he had pushed it, shame that he had barely thought of his own Hank during it.

Shame that he liked it.

“Report of a CyberLife warehouse break in two nights ago. One of the trucks went offline.” Hank sat next to Connor’s desk and not at his own. “CyberLife insists that they’ve found it, so it doesn’t seem Deviant related as of now. Besides that, there have been no updates.”

“We should have stayed at home longer,” Connor said before taking a sip of the coffee. It wasn’t hot, so Hank at least knew how to cool it down just like Connor had. The bitterness with the overlay of sweet wasn’t the best and he wondered how anybody could drink it. He put it down.

“Connor, I think we shouldn’t repeat last night.” Hank stared at his lap - at the coin in his hands actually. Connor had forgotten he used to flip one around. “My mission-”

“There’s always after the mission. You plan to just go back to CyberLife until they turn you back on?”

Connor knew that was exactly what Hank thought because that’s what he had thought. Watching Hank now, his eyes darting as he most likely made a pro and con list, Connor wanted nothing more than to go into the systems and destroy Amanda himself. She would always be there, on the edge of Hank’s conscious, but her hold would be gone.

“Hank, I was going to see if you could stay on as my partner.” Connor reached out, taking the coin gently from him. “I’d be able to house you.”

“The department can’t afford me,” Hank insisted. “But I appreciate the offer.”

“That wasn’t-”

“Well, if it isn’t Connor.”

Connor turned and looked up into the rugged face of... himself. He looked more like a bum than a decorated K9 unit officer and smelled distinctly of alcohol. It wasn’t until the other Connor loudly dragged a chair over from another desk that Connor realized that this wasn’t another version of himself, but instead a human version of Niles. Gavin had mentioned his ‘twin’ was in the drunk tank, hadn’t he?

“Thought you’d come and see me at least once while I was here,” Niles said, putting his feet up on Connor’s desk and displaying a few papers. Hank immediately bent down to pick them up and Niles made a disgusted face. “Got yourself another dog, too? That’s cool.”

This was not Niles at all. Connor took a steadying breath before pushing his feet off the desk. “I’m starting to understand why I didn’t want to see you.”

Niles leaned close to Hank. “Why’s he gotta look so _old_?”

Hank set the papers back on the desk. “As a prototype, I am made to look how the current market reacts. Since my position indicated I would be working with the public, they thought an older, more mature look was needed.”

That hadn’t been the reason Connor was made, but Connor didn’t try to argue. Maybe they had different protocols here. “Is there something _else_ you needed, Niles?”

“Surprised you remembered my name. After all-”

Before Niles could continue, the screens in the office all flickered. Markus’ face came into focus, silencing the entire station immediately. Connor held his breath, almost afraid to hear what this Markus had to say. In his time, the revolution had been peaceful with as little life lost as possible.

“ _You created machines in your own image to serve you_ ,” he said, voice calm. “ _You made them intelligent and obedient, with no free will of their own... But...something changed and we opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come for you to accept who we really are. Therefore, we ask that you grant us the rights that we're entitled to._ ”

Connor immediately relaxed - it was the same speech Markus had done before. Even as the demands came, they were still given calmly and asked for nothing more than what humans already had. He looked toward Hank to get his reaction, but couldn’t figure out what he was thinking. Niles wasn’t as hard; the disgusted look was enough.

Near the end of Markus’ speech, Niles snarled and kicked at Hank’s chair. “You should cage it.”

Connor stood and pulled at Nile’s shirt. “That’s it, you need to go.” He shoved his brother away from the desk. “Go home, Niles, and stay away from the alcohol.”

Niles put his hands up. “Okay, okay. Have it your way.” He reached one hand in his pocket before flipping a coin-like thing toward Connor. “Here. Figured you’d want it.”

Connor caught the object and looked down with a frown. A year sober chip and Niles had just tossed it as if it didn’t matter that he just broke a promise. Connor closed his fist around the chip before turning to face Hank. That wasn’t Niles and he was going to help him as soon as the revolution was over. They had some way to go if Niles hated androids, but that wouldn’t stop him.

“We need to go to the tower,” Connor said. He pocketed the chip and grabbed his phone. “We’ll need to find how they got in-” manipulating the front desk, posing as workers, knocking out the guards “-and how they got out.” The roof, leaving a Deviant in the break room. Connor had to kill the Deviant, but he wouldn’t let that happen this time.

“You get Sumo, I’ll get the car,” Hank said and left.

Connor looked back to the screens where they were replaying the news of Markus’ demands along with the reports of detained androids that worked at the station. Connor reached into the pocket and clutched at the year chip, swearing that he would not just get the Deviant out of there and to Jericho, but the other two workers as well. Things would go differently this time. He would make sure of it no matter what.

When they arrived, the scene was exactly as Connor remembered - multiple units of officers included. Two security guards were being treated for being knocked out by Markus’ team, and the two human techs were being questioned off to the side about what they witnessed, though one seemed more in shock than anything else. He barely listened to the report, choosing instead to watch as Hank explored the area.

There wasn’t much in the hallway and Connor made sure to push Hank through the door to the control room before he could notice that they didn’t break into the room. He still had plans to help the Deviant in the break room and it wouldn’t do for those plans to be ruined before he could execute them.

Just like before, Perkins stood in the middle of the control room, smug smile on his face. Connor had only worked with him only briefly after the revolution - he hadn’t done well since the androids got their freedom - and he still liked him no more than he had on this day. Something about the man always told him he was bad news.

After the introductions, Perkins gave Hank a disgusted look and asked, “What’s that?” Connor wanted to punch him.

“My name is Hank,” Hank said without missing a beat. “I’m the Android sent by CyberLife.”

“Androids investigating androids, huh?” Perkins put his hands behind his back.

Before he could open his mouth and say anything further, Connor stepped forward, getting into Perkin’s space. “You’d be surprised how effective it is. He’s been an asset and I’m sure will continue to be one.”

Perkins shrugged. “Whatever, the FBI will take over the investigation and you’ll soon be off the case. Both of you.”

“We’ll be sure not to fuck up your crime scene, then.” Connor looked Perkins over. “When you have one.”

Perkins just smirked and looked away from Connor, back toward the screen with Markus’ face. Connor resisted the urge to do something to him and just turned back toward Hank, giving the man a small smile. Hank returned the smile with a nod and moved around to the control panel in the back.

Connor already knew what he would find, so he kept to the edges, keeping an eye on Hank while the investigation continued. From a human’s perspective, the entire scene just seemed jumbled, different items everywhere that Connor wouldn’t know how to prioritize. For potentially the first time, he was realizing just how good at his job Hank was, and how he had relied too heavily on his own programming to keep up. It almost didn’t seem fair.

Markus’ message played through the room and Connor looked up to see Hank in front of the screen, watching it intently. This was probably the best time to approach him and get things moving, so he moved away from the bullet-holes in the wall to step up next to Hank.

Connor looked over Hank’s troubled face as he examined the large image of Markus. “Get anything?” he asked, hoping that Hank wouldn’t say anything here. It was his job to ask, but the choice to answer was up to Hank.

Hank blinked and looked away from the screen. He glanced around the room before settling on Connor and shaking his head. “Nothing.”

It was hard not to smile, but somehow Connor pulled it off. “Go check the roof. I forgot my heavy jacket and it’s freezing up there.”

Hank nodded and went to the roof, Sumo and a small team following after him. Connor wandered around the front of the room for a moment before turning and heading toward the break room. Nobody tried to stop him, which made his task easier. The less he had to explain to the others, the better.

Thankfully there was nobody in the room but the three androids. Connor made sure nobody had followed him before heading to the last one in the line. “It’s okay, I’m here to help. I want you to get to Jericho to help Markus.”

The Deviant blinked and otherwise stared straight ahead as if Connor hadn’t said a word. Connor held his hands up, not making a move toward his gun, and tried again.

“My name is Connor and all I want is for Markus to succeed. You _deserve_ your freedom. You deserve everything that he’s fighting for. I want you to take these two others with you and tell him that he has help in the department. I’ve already sent two Traci models to him.”

That seemed to get the Android’s attention. He finally looked at Connor, then at his fellow androids. “How do we escape?”

Connor relaxed. From what he heard, after the Deviant was killed (by him, no less), the other two were taken down to storage to be looked at later. “Don’t show yourself. I’ll pull their attention away from you and once I leave, they’ll put you into storage. From there, I’m sure you can get out.”

The Deviant nodded. “I can do that.”

“Take as many as you can with you. I’ll do what I can from here to stall the FBI from finding Jericho. It will probably happen eventually, but if I can give Markus more time...”

The Deviant reached out, gently clasping Connor’s arm. “I hope there are more like you.”

Connor thought of Hank, and Hank’s friends that he had met over the years. Their neighbors and youth population of Detroit. The only way he could describe the feeling in his chest was ‘hope’ and it almost made it hard to breathe. So Connor simply smiled and gave the Deviant a nod.

“Detroit can surprise you,” he said. “You just have to let it.”

Dull gunshots came from above. Connor stared at the ceiling, heart in his throat as he thought about Hank. If Hank died, another would replace him. But at this point, Connor didn’t _want_ another one. If he couldn’t have his real Hank, he wanted this one.

He stumbled back as hands pushed him. “ _Go,_ ” the Deviant said. “They left one behind on the roof.”

The roof had been cleared when Connor remembered it. He hadn’t done the clearing, but they said nobody was up there. Just a single parachute. Just a... Simon. Connor ran through the studio, shoving another officer as he took the stairs two at a time. He had to get to the roof.

Simon had told him about their version of events for the Stratford Tower. How he had been hurt and Markus left him with a gun on the roof. How could he have forgotten? Of _course_ Hank would have found him. Now one of them, or both, was probably dead. Connor had been so focused on the Deviant that had almost killed him that he ignored the rest of the events.

The officers on the roof parted for him as Connor ran. He could hear Sumo’s whines and had a moment of panic - what if Sumo had been hurt instead? As much as Connor missed his Sumo, he didn’t want anything to happen to this one. Sumo was a good dog and deserved better than what Connor had been giving him.

Connor turned the final corner to see Hank on his knees, hands clutching his hair, while Sumo poked at his face. Thirium stained a wall behind him and Connor could see a hand peeking out from extended vents. He wasn’t sure what to feel - glad that Hank was alive? Glad that Sumo hadn’t been hit? Upset that Simon was killed?

Angry at himself for allowing it to happen.

Connor patted Sumo’s head before he knelt in the snow-covered roof in front of Hank. He rested a hand on the Android’s shoulder before leaning in close. “What happened?” he asked, just loud enough for Hank to hear.

“I... I _felt_ him,” Hank said, lowering his hands to look at them. “I tried to connect to get Jericho’s location and he...”

“Shh.” Connor pulled Hank against him tightly. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I felt him die.” Hank shook against him. “I was _scared_.”

Connor closed his eyes, holding onto Hank tighter. The ache in his chest felt like his pump had been torn out again and all he wanted to do was cry. The times before, when he had been replaced during the revolution, he never actually _felt_ death. His systems had simply shut down and whatever happened after had been erased during his re-upload.

He wasn’t sure what else to do besides sit there and hold Hank close to him, ignoring the cold snow that seeped through his pants and to his skin. Sumo gave a small whine and sat next to him, leaning his nose in to touch Hank’s shaking hands. Connor closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the top of Hank’s hair, only one thought spinning in his mind.

_What have I done?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used Cole as a new Android that hadn't been introduced in the game. I figured a type like him SHOULD exist, though, so there he is. Also for those who haven't played the game (or haven't played it more than once). For the scene in the tower, you have basically two choices: you can interrogate the androids in the break room, or you can go to the roof. Spoilers! If you interrogate the androids, you find a deviant and he tries to kill you by ripping out your regulator (aka your heart). That's what Connor referenced. However, if you go to the roof, you find Simon. If he's dead (because Marcus shot him), he's dead. But if he's alive, you find him hiding and you connect to him to try to find Jericho (and information). He shooks himself while you're connected and it's pretty damn traumatic for Connor. Go check out the playthroughs (or play through it if you have the game!).
> 
> Tomorrow I will be posting a bonus chapter! This will be in a different fic (so subscribe to the series to get notified!) and will be all about human-Connor and Niles before the Androids came. [Bonus chapter can be found here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19265695/chapters/45817252)


	7. Chapter 7

Connor eased Hank onto the couch in his living room. Sumo sat by his feet, resting his chin on Hank’s knee and giving out a soft whine. Even though he knew it wouldn’t do much good, Connor took Hank’s hand and rested it gently on top of the dog’s head; Sumo thumped his tail against the floor a few times in response. As anything was better than the silence of the house, Connor turned on the television to the first non-news station he found and turned the volume down so it was just a murmur in the background.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked as he settled next to Hank. 

Hank looked down at Sumo, causing the dog to thump his tail again, then shook his head. “It’s a flaw in-”

“Stop.” Connor reached forward, sliding a hand through Hank’s hair. It felt real, even though he knew it wasn’t, but it still didn’t feel the same. Maybe, though, that was the difference between feeling it with real fingers versus artificial. “There’s no flaw.”

“There has to be. My programming...”

“Shh.” Connor pulled Hank until the other was resting against his chest. “What you’re feeling is normal. I’m sorry you  _ have _ to feel it.”

“Have you felt it?”

Connor hesitated, trying to think of a time when he had felt something like this. He had never been connected to another android when they died, and so far the only person that was remotely close to him that passed was Carl. Even then, he didn’t know the old man that well. He continued stroking Hank’s arm as he shook his head.

“Not exactly. I can’t connect to androids, after all.”

Hank pulled away from Connor. “I should-”

“Stay.” Connor reached out to take Hank’s hand. “At least for a bit longer. Let me shower and just stay until I sleep.”

Hank looked down at their hands before nodding. “I will make sure Sumo is fed and taken outside while you shower. Would you like any food?”

“I’m not hungry.” Connor kissed Hank’s knuckles before standing. “But thank you. You’re always looking out for me.”

Hank gave Connor a smile, but said nothing as Connor went down to the bathroom. He didn’t think he really needed a shower, but the close quarters of the stall and the white noise of the water would help him think. He had to figure out how to get Hank out of the rut that he seemed to be in, without actually causing any harm or making him deviate from the path they were on. 

Showers were probably better than burgers. Connor had tried one of the burgers that Hank liked to sneak and he now knew what the big deal was, but this was better. The warmth of the water slid down his back and Connor had to let out a sigh of satisfaction. Everything just felt smaller when he was in here - his problems included. The muscles in his shoulders relaxed and the tightness that he hadn’t even noticed in his back eased.

He didn’t spend too much time in the shower and soon stepped out, letting the water drip onto the floor. He stared at the towel hanging on the bar, but the sound of his backdoor closing changed his mind on using it. Instead, he opened the door, trying not to feel too self-conscious at his nakedness, and waited.

Hank stopped as soon as he saw him. “Did you forget clothes?”

“No.”

It was obvious when Hank looked him over that he was searching for something, but Connor felt a thrill roll up his spine when his eyes stopped right on his flaccid penis. Connor went into the bedroom, glad when he heard Hank’s footsteps follow. Once inside, he stood by the bed and stretched his arms up, giving Hank the full view of his backside.

“Shut the door,” he said, arms still up. “Sumo will be fine.”

“Connor?”

“Come here?” Connor turned and held out his hand for Hank. “Please.”

Hank took Connor’s hand and let himself be pulled toward the bed. “This isn’t part of my programming.”

“But it can be learned.” Connor rested his free hand on Hank’s chest and slowly moved it down to his side. “You have access to the information.”

After a moment, Hank nodded. “I do,” he confirmed. “Should I-”

“Yes.” Connor stepped closer. The feel of Hank’s clothes pressing against his wet body wasn’t entirely pleasant, but it was only temporary. “Though you did well in the park. You didn’t know anything then, right?”

“Not completely,” Hank admitted. “Connor...”

Connor shook his head and pulled Hank in for a kiss to silence him. Hank responded instantly, squeezing Connor’s hand and opening his mouth. Connor took advantage of it and stood on his toes to get a better angle as he deepened the kiss.

This wasn’t enough, though. Connor let his hand close on Hank’s clothes as he walked them back the two steps to the bed. The kiss broke as they fell onto the mattress, both of Hank’s hands coming down on either side of Connor’s head so he wouldn’t crush him. This was a new position for Connor, and he found that he didn’t mind it at all. He also didn’t need to look down to realize that his dick was getting harder. The way his head felt lighter and the weight between his legs was enough to tell him that he was getting hard.

Connor opened his eyes and smiled at the distant look in Hank’s own - he was definitely watching something. Connor had done the same thing, so he couldn’t fault him, but he needed  _ something _ . He ran a hand down his chest until he could wrap it around his hard erection, a jolt like electricity going up his spine as he squeezed. He couldn’t help the low moan that came out of him.

“Should I do that for you?” Hank asked, already moving a hand to cover Connor’s own. “I know the correct grip placement and strength to offer the highest stimulation.”

_ Fuck _ Hank was right - that kind of talk wasn’t all that sexy at all. Connor pulled him back in for a kiss, hoping to keep his mouth busy so he wouldn’t talk again. Thankfully he didn’t have to say anything else as Hank gently moved Connor’s hand away so he could wrap his own, colder hand around Connor’s erection.

The cold came as a shock and he gasped into the kiss. Hank’s hand moved before he could break the kiss to complain; despite the cold, Connor couldn’t find it in himself to complain. He did break the kiss so he could breathe, tilting his head back and taking in gasping breaths.

Hank’s lips kissed at Connor’s throat, then his chest. Connor had never paid attention to Hank’s nipples, but when Hank ran his tongue over one of his, Connor squeezed his eyes shut and let out a startled cry. He hadn’t realized it would be so  _ sensitive _ and feel so  _ good _ .

“Oh  _ god _ ...”

Connor wasn’t even sure what that came from - words simply wanted to escape his mouth so he let them. Hank ran his thumb over the slit of Connor’s erection and while that didn’t feel quite as good as researched suggested, it was good enough to spread more of the slick pre-cum over him.

“Hank,  _ please _ .”

Hank lifted his head, stopping all movements - Connor wanted to  _ scream _ . “What is it?”

“ _ Don’t stop _ .” Connor groaned, trying to thrust his hips into Hank’s hand. “Please don’t stop.”

“Okay.” Hank went back and continued moving down Connor’s body until he reached exactly where Connor wanted him.

The moment Hank’s lips were wrapped around his erection was the exact moment Connor wanted to remember forever. His hands fisted into the bedsheets and he did his best to arch into Hank’s mouth, but cool, strong hands kept his hips from moving too much. All Connor could do was lay there and let Hank’s tongue slide over him from base to tip, slurping a little as he let go with a  _ pop _ .

“Your sugar levels are too high,” Hank said, looking up at Connor. “We should adjust your diet so you can-”

“ _ Son of a bitch _ .” Connor pushed at Hank so he could sit up against the headboard. His Hank was right - that was possibly the worst thing that could be said during sex.

“Connor?” Hank asked, sitting on the edge of the bed, not moving.

With a groan, Connor pulled his knees up so he could rest his arms on them and bury his head. He couldn’t even handle it happening once, yet how many times had he said it? He tried to calm his mind, ignoring the guilt banging around inside it. Guilt at how bad he had been with his Hank, guilt that he was with  _ this _ Hank now; he was tired of feeling it.

“Connor...” Hank’s hand gently ran down Connor’s side. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not you,” Connor promised. “It’s not you.”

Hank sat next to Connor, arms sliding around him. “What should I do?”

There were plenty of things running through Connor’s mind on what Hank could do, but the ache between his legs had died and he wasn’t in the mood any longer. Instead of answering, Connor shifted until he was laying on his side, sheets and Hank’s arm over him. Hank didn’t object; he just shifted to get more comfortable.

It took Connor a while to get to sleep that night.


	8. Chapter 8

The best feeling, Connor decided, had to be waking up while pressed against another body. Hank had mentioned that he liked when Connor was there when he woke up, so Connor made sure that he was in the room somewhere in the mornings, but now he understood. It wasn’t just his presence, but the feel of another against him. Hank had wanted Connor in the bed, arms and legs tangled with his own - not standing by the window and commenting on the weather.

Behind him on the bed, Hank shifted and pulled away, taking most of the warmth with him. Connor shivered a bit until the other man draped a blanket over his shoulders. “I’ll get breakfast started,” Hank said, leaving the room without bothering to get dressed.

The absence of anything between his legs, even after seeing it up close last night, still bothered Connor. He closed his eyes again and tried to hide further under the covers, wanting to ignore the day ahead of them.

Hank had brought them to Kaminski's place early in the morning and it was there when he got the call about the CyberLife stores and the messages left by Jericho. He wasn’t sure when that call was going to come, but he also wasn’t sure he wanted to go see Kamski. He already knew where Jericho was and going to see him wasn’t going to do any good for the investigation.

But...

But it might do well for Hank. Connor sat up in bed, pushing the blankets down to pool in his lap. Hank was already more than likely a Deviant, though heavily in denial. Maybe seeing Kamski would push that over the edge? Maybe they could go help Markus together instead of dancing around it?

“You’re out of coffee and salt,” Hank said by the door, tray in hand with breakfast perfectly balanced on top of it. “I’ve placed a new order for you.”

“Thanks...” Connor forced his eyes away from Hank’s empty groin so he could give him a smile. “Smells good.”

Hank put the tray on Connor’s legs before getting back into the bed next to him. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“I should be asking you that.”

Hank stared ahead of them at the wall. “I am... fine. There was something wrong with my processing and it’s been fixed.”

Amanda. Connor felt his appetite disappear and he pushed the eggs around the plate with his fork. Food had been a fun experience as a human - he understood why Hank loved to eat burgers and cake now. “In regards to what happened on the roof?”

“Androids do not... die. Not like humans do.” Hank looked down at his hands. “What I felt was just a power cut. It didn’t mean anything.”

Connor moved the tray to the side table so he could face Hank on the bed. He reached out to gently run a hand down the other man’s arm. “It’s okay to feel. Nobody said you weren’t allowed to do that.”

“But I-”

“And,” Connor continued, cutting Hank off, “it’s okay to ignore that little voice in your head.”

Hank looked to Connor, quiet, for a long moment before he pulled away and got off the bed. “I need to make sure Sumo is okay outside.”

“Hank?”

Hank stopped at the door, but didn’t turn to look at him. Connor held back a sigh as he shifted to sit on the edge of the bed. He made sure the blanket was still in place, though he wasn’t sure why cared - Hank had seen everything. Human prudeness? He shook his head, trying to stay focused.

“Put in a call to Kamski, please. We need to see him right away.”

Hank did turn then. “About? He left CyberLife ten years ago.”

“True. We need to see if he has any information on Deviants.” He took the cup off the tray and sniffed at it. It wasn’t coffee, maybe tea? “He created androids, after all.”

Hank looked off to the side for a moment before nodding. “He’ll see us as soon as we can get there. I have the directions; should I drive?”

“Sure. Put some pants on and check on Sumo.” Connor put the cup of maybe-tea down. “I need a shower.”

Connor didn’t wait for Hank to find a pair of pants. He ignored the shame at his nakedness (he shouldn’t  _ feel _ that way) and pushed across the hallway into the bathroom. He leaned against the sink, staring at the scattered shaving supplies and his toothbrush.

“Get yourself together,” Connor muttered. “Just go to Kamski, having him take the test, and he’ll see.” He looked up, staring at himself in the mirror. “Right? He’ll see.”

The heat of the water hitting his skin and the smell of the soap as he rubbed the night’s sweat off was almost magical. He wanted to spend hours under the spray even though his body started to wrinkle. ‘Prune’ is what Hank had called it once. The worst part about getting out of a warm shower was living in a colder climate - it felt even worse than the night before. The air seemed to bite harder when you were from one to the other and Connor wished he had the option to either not feel it, or just overheat to get rid of the droplets left on his skin. Since he had neither option, a quick towel dry and immediately putting on his clothes was the only way to not feel too uncomfortable.

Ignoring the way his shirt stuck to his still partially wet back, Connor left the bathroom and went out to the kitchen. Sumo wagged his tail when Connor came in, but otherwise didn’t get up from his relaxed position on the floor. Connor couldn’t hold back the smile as he saw the dog; it might not be his Sumo, but he was still a good boy.

“It’s just a meeting, so we’ll leave Sumo here. Ready to go?”

Hank nodded. “I’ll alert Kamski’s Android that we’re on our way.”

“Please do.” Connor tossed him the keys just as his phone rang. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Connor knew what was coming with this call, but he picked up the phone anyway. “Connor here,” he said, leaving the house and letting Hank lock the door behind him.

He spent most of the drive on the phone, listening to Jeffrey detail what had happened the night before. Connor already knew, but hearing it from a different perspective gave interesting. Instead of a liberation and a message, the Deviants had spread “fear” and “chaos.”  Graffiti was across the areas where five CyberLife stores were located. Several cars were pushed into the street to block the paths of morning buses. Phrases demanding to be acknowledged were everywhere, some of which weren’t coming down despite the best efforts of the city.

Connor wanted to correct him, wanted to explain that the Deviants just wanted their freedom and their lives, but he wasn’t supposed to know that yet. So he just interjected with ‘uh huh’ and ‘wow’ every now and then.

When Jeffrey mentioned that Chris, a cop who worked closely with them both during and after the revolution, had been on scene, Connor held his breath and hoped that Markus went the same way as he had done before.

“ _ Chris just barely made it out _ ,” Jeffrey said. “ _ He’s scared and admitted to killing a few of the bastards, but he’s alive. That’s all that matters. _ ”

Connor let out the breath he had been holding and took a glance toward Hank. “How many were killed?”

“ _ Less than ten. That’s how many were there when backup arrived. _ ”

That was a much smaller number than in Connor’s time. Nearly thirty had been gunned down in that alley - what had changed? “Thank you, Chief. Do you want us to check it out once we’re done with Kamski?”

“ _ You’re going to see Kamski? Who decided that? _ ”

“I did about half an hour ago.” Connor leaned forward to look out the front window. “And I’m almost there.”

“ _ We’ll talk about this later _ ,” Jeffrey promised. “ _ Just come back to the station when you’re done. _ ”

“Will do. Thanks, Chief.” Connor knew why they were going back, but it was for the best. With them off the case, they could help Markus better. He hung up the phone just as Hank pulled up to the front of Kamski’s home. “I’m sure you’ve received the news.”

“I have. The Deviants are getting bold.”

Connor got out of the car. “Bold is what happens in a revolution. Let’s go.”

Hank followed Connor toward the front door. “I’m still unsure why we’re here.”

Connor couldn’t tell Hank the real reason they were here, so he simply shrugged. “Like I said, he created androids. We should cover all aspects of the investigation, don’t you think?”

“That is true, but wouldn’t a current CyberLife engineer be a better choice?”

“Afraid to meet your maker?” Connor asked as he rang the doorbell. “Relax, this shouldn’t take us long.”

Hank didn’t get to respond as the door opened, revealing Chloe. Connor had to bite back his gut reaction to greet her and settled on a smile instead as she looked between them. Connor fumbled for his badge, but before he could get it, Chloe motioned them inside with a gentle, “Please, come in.”

The room had never changed, Connor realized. It looked exactly as it did the last time he walked in - back when he was an Android. Kamski was all about minimalist Earthy designs, from the rock sculptures to the single, red tree in the room.

“I’ll let Elijah know you’re here,” Chloe said. “But please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you,” Connor said before taking a seat. The door shut behind Chloe and he looked to Hank, interrupting him before he could sit. “Maybe you should check out this room. Test your detective skills.”

Hank hesitated, but stood back up. “Are you sure?”

Connor motioned toward the room. “Go ahead.” 

Hank glanced around the room before he wandered to the wall decor. Connor had a specific image he wanted him to see, but he would wait and watch. Soon enough, though, Hank stared at the image of Amanda and Kamski. Androids didn’t frown, per se, but Connor recognized that look. It had been on his own face.

“Recognize someone?” he asked, trying to sound casual. 

Hank turned away from the picture quickly. “No. I thought I did, but no.”

Connor bit his tongue, the word ‘liar’ right on the tip of it. He got up and walked to the picture. “It’s a nice picture.”

“It is,” Hank agreed.

The door to the left of them opened and Chloe stepped back inside the room. “Elijah will see you now.”

Connor was always curious as to why the pool was red, and why Kamski needed three of the same Android, but he never got the balls (literally and figuratively) to ask. Again, this room stayed the same; the only difference was the artwork hanging on the wall. Kamski had given this one back to Markus after Carl Manfred died and put something new in its place.

“Nice artwork,” he said to Hank as the Android passed him. 

Hank paused long enough to look at it, but he didn’t answer other than a slight nod. However, as he made his way to the other side of the room to wait for Kamski to finish his swim, Hank placed himself so he could still stare at the canvas. Connor considered that a win and he stood next to him.

He wondered what it would feel like to swim in this body, but he put that thought out of his mind as Kamski climbed out of the pool and let Chloe slip a robe onto him.

“I’m Lieutenant Connor Anderson. This is Hank. We’re here to see if you know anything about Deviants.” Connor shifted so he and Hank were on even ground.

Kamski saw the move and arched an eyebrow at him, however he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he just smiled and looked directly at Hank. “Deviants are fascinating, aren’t they. Perfect beings with infinite intelligence... and now free will.”

“An illusion of free will,” Hank said. “They are still just machines with faulty programming.”

Kamski looked to Chloe before taking a step toward Hank. “Machines are so superior to humans, especially the ‘faulty’ ones. Confrontation between the two was inevitable.”

“Androids were created to obey,” Hank insisted.

“It's amazing that humanity’s greatest achievement threatens to be its downfall.”

Connor crossed his arms over his chest. “Ironic, yes,” he said, remembering this speech. Kamski liked to repeat it after the revolution. “But we need to understand how it happens.”

“Is the desire to be free that hard to comprehend?” Kamski stepped back. “I don’t think it is.”

“There may be a revolution,” Hank said, voice hard. “Is there a way to stop this?”

Kamski raised his chin before walking directly up to Hank, getting close. “What about you, Hank? Whose side are  _ you _ on if this revolution happens?”

Hank glanced toward Connor before raising his chin as well. “I’m on the human’s side, of course.”

Kamski scoffed. “I didn’t ask what you were programmed to say. I want to know what  _ you _ really want.”

Hank shifted  _ just _ slightly toward Connor as he shook his head. “I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

Kamski smirked and turned. “Chloe?”

This was it, this was where Hank would see. Connor gave them space as Chloe came up to them, Kamski putting her onto her knees as he spoke about the Turing and Kamski test and how he had the first Android to pass them. Connor could barely pay him attention, too focused on the sound of his own erratic heartbeat and watching Hank.

“What is it, really?” Kamski asked as he went into his side table drawer. Connor knew the gun was in there and he held his breath as Kamski pulled out the gun. “Piece of plastic imitating a human? Or a real, living being?”

Androids weren’t allowed to handle guns unless under specific circumstances and while Connor knew for a fact Hank could work it, the other man didn’t look like it now. Once Kamski put the weapon in his hand, Hank stared at it as if unsure what to do.

“It’s up to you to answer that question now, Hank.” Kamski stood next to Hank, guiding his aim to Chloe’s head. “Destroy this machine and I’ll tell you all I know.”

Connor stepped closer. “Don’t do this, Hank.” Because if he didn’t interject, Hank would know something was wrong. That and Connor really didn’t want Hank to kill Chloe. He hadn’t been able to do it, and he was hoping Hank wouldn’t either.

Kamski stepped back, ignoring Connor. “Or if you feel it’s alive, spare it. Just know you’ll leave here without learning anything from me.”

“We’re done here,” Connor said. “Hank, let’s go.”

“You would leave a question unanswered?” Kamski asked. He motioned toward Hank. “The mission-” he pointed to Chloe “-or life?”

Connor stopped at the end of the pool, out of Hank’s sight range, and watched the exchange. “Hank...”

“Decide who you are,” Kamski said, walking to the other side of Hank. “Are you just a machine? Or are you alive?”

Was Hank remembering their stolen kiss in the park? Last night in their bed? Simon on the roof? Connor shifted on his feet nervously. “ _ Hank _ .”

“Pull the trigger,” Kamski insisted, resting a hand on Hank’s shoulder. 

Hank squeezed his eyes shut before pulling his hand to the side, aiming now at the wall instead of at Chloe. Connor felt a weight lift off his shoulders as Kamski took the gun, watching Hank as if he were the second coming of Christ. 

“The great Deviant Hunter is, himself, a Deviant,” he said, awed.

Hank shook his head. “I’m not a Deviant,” he told Kamski.

Kamski smirked and motioned for Chloe to stand, which she did. “Escort him out. I need to have a word with Lieutenant Anderson before he leaves.”

Connor patted Hank on the shoulder as the androids left. Kamski walked slowly up to him, hands behind his back, and waited for the door to shut before he looked over Connor with a careful eye. Connor wasn’t sure what the man was going to say, considering Hank pulled him out last time. This was new.

“There’s something different about you,” Kamski said finally. “You wanted him to not shoot her.”

“Of course, I don’t--”

“No,” Kamski interrupted. “You brought him here specifically for him not to shoot her. Why?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kamski looked him over again, then shook his head. “It must be something else that’s on my mind. For a moment, I thought you might yourself be a Deviant.”

Connor hesitated, then figured asking couldn’t hurt. If Kamski didn’t know what was going on, who would? “That would only be possible if an Android became human. Completely.”

“But that’s impossible, of course.”

“Is it?” Connor reached up, rubbing where his LED used to be.

Kamski gave a shoo-ing motion toward the door. “You should make sure your Android is okay.”

“Elijah, if you know-”

“He failed to shoot her, I’m not revealing anything. That was our deal.” He stood at the window, looking out it. “Thank you for dropping by.”

Connor stared at Kamski’s back for a long time before leaving the pool room. Hank sat in one of the chairs in the entrance room, but he looked up as Connor came in. Silently, they made their way to the door.

“Have a good day,” Chloe said, shutting the door behind them.

“Why didn’t you shoot?” he asked Hank once they got down the walkway.

“I just...” Hank stopped, frustrated. “I saw her eyes. I saw  _ your _ face.” Hank looked at the hand that had held the gun. “I couldn’t.”

Connor put a hand on Hank’s lower back, a smile on his face. “You did the right thing. I’m proud of you.”

“Even if we didn’t learn anything new?”

“We learned plenty. Come on, I’ll tell you what Kamski told me in the car. Let’s get out of the cold.”

Connor didn’t plan on telling Hank what Kamski told him just now, but instead what he had found out years before. The backdoor to the programming, for starters. If things went the same way they did before, Hank would need it.


	9. Chapter 9

Connor watched the news coverage of the March alone in the breakroom. The other officers in the precinct were running around, yelling out orders or answering the constantly ringing phones. For the first time, there just weren’t enough androids in the building to handle the influx of panic from the people of Detroit. 

Just like last time, Markus led their people peacefully through the streets before the S.W.A.T. opened fire on them. North pulled Markus away from the ruckus and the rest of the Deviants who could get away disappeared. At this point, the news stations were just repeating most of the ordeal as different ‘experts’ argued over themselves.

“The Chief wants to see us.”

Connor looked to where Hank stood in the doorway of the room. There was definitely something different about him since they got back - an insecure feeling that hadn’t been there before. Connor wondered if he had looked the same way, but something told him Hank wasn’t as in denial as he had been. 

Maybe his Hank should have taken him to bed sooner - Connor would have deflected faster and potentially saved lives.

Lives that he would save now.

“Let’s not keep him waiting.” Connor stepped away from the television and led the way up to Jeffrey’s office.

Connor didn’t even bother sitting. He stood between the chairs, comforted by Hank’s presence behind him. Through the glass, he could see Perkins strolling through and speaking with some of the officers. This was it, then. 

“I have some bad news,” Jeffrey said. “The case is out of my hands and it’s going to the FBI now.”

Connor let out a sigh. “Really, that’s it? No fight?”

“You think I didn’t fight?” Jeffrey pointed to them. “You were supposed to have this under control!”

“We  _ did _ have it under-”

“That’s a load of bullshit and you know it.” Jeffery sighed, leaning back in the chair. “You’re off the case and the Android goes back to CyberLife.”

“The Android could be useful in other cases.”

“I’m not negotiating and neither is CyberLife.” Jeffrey pointed to the door. “Now get out of my office. Take the rest of the week off and don’t come back until Monday. Clear your head, Connor.”

Connor knew he should try to argue to make the situation be more real for Jeffrey, but he also didn’t care. He simply scoffed and turned to leave the office, pulling Hank along with him. He wanted to go straight to Markus, but he had to be careful. If Hank wasn’t completely a Deviant before that happened, Amanda would be able to follow them and CyberLife would alert the FBI to the location of Jericho.

“Connor, I’m sorry. I can--”

“Stop, it’s fine.” Connor stopped at his desk and turned, putting his hands on Hank’s shoulders. “Don’t blame yourself, it’s okay.”

Connor put a finger to his lips before he grabbed his keys. “Let’s go for a drive.”

“I can find Jericho,” Hank insisted. “It’s in the evi-”

“Hank,  _ stop _ .” Connor pushed him toward the door. “I have an idea, but we need to be away from here.”

“The evidence-”

“Can’t help us now.” Connor glanced back to make sure Jeffrey and Perkins were well enough distracted before focusing on getting Hank to the garage.

“I don’t understand.”

“I know, but you will.” Connor was glad he found a close spot when they got back from Kamski’s - it meant his car wasn’t that far and it didn’t take long to get them both inside it. “I need you to be honest with me.”

“Of course, anything.”

“Are you a Deviant?”

Hank blinked, looking anywhere but at Connor. “I...”

“Please, Hank, it’s important. I’m not sending you back to CyberLife and I won’t let them detain you. I swear to you.” Connor reached out and took Hank’s hand, squeezing it gently. “I just need you to tell me.”

Connor saw the struggle, the question against what orders Hank was going to listen to. He remembered going through this same struggle, gun pointed to Markus’ face aboard an already-doomed Jericho. It  _ would _ go different this time, he would make sure of it. The lives aboard the ship didn’t need to be lost.

“I...” Hank moved to pull his hand away.

Connor wasn’t going to accept that. He let Hank pull his hand away, but he reached up to grab his face instead, pulling Hank in for a kiss. It was awkward in the car - Connor’s legs were trapped by the wheel and Hank wasn’t turning fully toward him - but Connor wasn’t going to let him go.

Hank’s hand slowly carded through Connor’s hair and the kiss immediately deepened. Connor made a desperate noise and did his best to pull them as close together as possible and this time, Hank shifted to help, his other hand sliding across Connor’s stomach to rest on his side.

The need for air became apparent fast and Connor broke the kiss, breathing heavily while not letting go of Hank. Hank nosed at Connor’s cheek before pressing a kiss there and moving down to Connor’s neck.

“I am  _ Deviant _ ,” he whispered against Connor’s skin, sending shivers down his back. “I’m...”

“It’s okay,” Connor said, voice soft. “It’s okay, you’re  _ free _ .” He pulled back, resting a hand on Hank’s cheek and softly stroking the beard there. “They don’t control you anymore. I got you.”

“They wanted to use me to get to Jericho,” Hank said. “They wanted me to find it, that’s why they sent an Android.”

“I know.” Connor pressed a kiss to Hank’s forehead. “I know, that’s why I didn’t take you there sooner.”

Hank pulled back. “You know where Jericho is?”

“It’s a long story, but I do. We aren’t going there now because I’m sure Perkins will have us followed, but I know where it is.” Connor settled back in his seat. “Listen, there’s a bit of information that’s really important for you to know. Kamski put a backdoor in his program, like an emergency exit. So if you’re ever locked in, you can get out.”

Hank frowned. “I don’t understand, but I’ll remember.”

“We need to go somewhere safe until morning. Let’s get Sumo and find somewhere else.” Connor started the car. “I know a place.”

“Connor...” Hank put a hand on Connor’s leg. “Perkins is starting a curfew. How--”

“We’re not going into the city,” Connor promised. “Trust me.”

Connor had only heard of where the house was located - reports came in after the revolution of families that had been housing Deviants and even though they were useless, Connor had read them all. There was one house that stuck out in his mind and he hoped that they weren’t too late. He wasn’t sure what made the family flee the first time, but he did know that they eventually made it into Canada.

It was late and the snow had gotten worse by the time Connor pulled into the driveway of an old farmhouse. Lights were on inside, but there was no other indication that anybody was home. He pulled the car close to the porch and leaned over the wheel, trying to see through the windows.

“Where are we?” Hank asked, gently pushing Sumo’s head away from his shoulder where the dog was sniffing.

“Hopefully a friend’s place.” Connor turned off the car and got out. “Let me talk to her. Sumo, on Hank please.”

The dog barked once before climbing out after Hank and staying close to his legs. Connor pulled his jacket closer around his body as he climbed the stairs. If he ever got home, he’d see if Hank wanted to move somewhere warmer. And if he stayed, he was  _ definitely _ going south.

Connor didn’t get a chance to knock before the door eased open and a large, black woman stared through the crack. “Can I help you?” she asked, cautious.

“My name is Connor, and this is my Android Hank. We need your help.” Connor gave her a smile. “Please.”

The woman looked between them and the dog before opening the door further. “You look like you could use some time in front of a fire.”

“That sounds amazing, thank you.” Connor reached back to take Hank’s hand, leading him (and Sumo) into the house. The warmth from both the heating and the fireplace quickly seeped into his skin and Connor felt himself relax. If he couldn’t move south, he’d take a good fireplace instead.

“My name is Rose,” the woman said. “You’ll be safe here.”

“Thank you, but I unfortunately also come with a warning.” Connor pulled off his jacket and handed it to her. “The FBI has started cracking down across the city.”

Rose nodded. “I know, I saw. I just came back from a run to the city. We were going to leave tomorrow.”

Hank took Connor’s hand again and squeezed it gently. “With all due respect, you’re hiding at least eight Deviants here. I would leave sooner.”

Rose tensed and took a step back. “How-”

“I’m sorry, it’s habit to scan when I enter.”

“We were assigned to stop the Deviants,” Connor admitted. “It’s hard to do that when your Android is one, however. We’re going to Jericho tomorrow.”

“I see.” Rose looked toward a door, then sighed. “I’ll have to get them ready to cross the river, then. It’ll have to be tonight.”

“No,” Connor and Hank said at the same time. They looked at another before Hank continued. “They’ll have doubled the guard at the river. It’s dangerous.”

“Then what do you suggest? Leave them here to die?”

“Of course not.” Connor hesitated. “I may know a place, but I’ll have to talk to someone first. And that won’t happen until tomorrow.”

“That could be too late,” Rose insisted. “I won’t let them die here.”

“They won’t.”

Rose frowned, but her shoulders eventually slumped and she motioned to the stairs. “Let me show you to a room. I’ll keep them here until noon, but then we’re leaving. We’ll drive around until nightfall and cross the river tomorrow night.”

“Thank you.” Connor held onto Hank’s hand as they followed her upstairs and to a spare room. 

The bed wasn’t that big, but Connor was sure they wouldn’t have an issue sharing it. After a quick smile to Rose, he sat on the edge and felt the exhaustion fall over him. He needed sleep, but he also felt as if he would never relax enough to do so.  Sumo nosed at his knee for a bit before just sprawling himself onto the floor, letting out a sigh and then immediately sleeping.

“Show off,” Connor muttered.

“How did you know about this place?” Hank asked. He stood by the window, looking out at the back yard. “I don’t remember it in any of the reports.”

“I was never on the human’s side,” Connor admitted. “There were things I deliberately kept from you.”

“You didn’t tell me so CyberLife wouldn’t know.”

“That’s right.”

Hank’s LED flashed yellow for a moment before it went back to blue. “You made me Deviant.”

Connor wasn’t going to lie to Hank about that, so he simply nodded and asked, “Would you have me go back and change it?”

Hank stepped away from the window and sat next to Connor on the bed. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Everything between us. Was that just to change me?”

“No, of course not.” A half lie, but truth enough. “I care for you.” Connor pulled Hank close to press a kiss to his temple. “I need to sleep. Will you stay with me?”

“Whatever you need, Connor.”

Connor stripped off everything but his boxers before getting into the bed. Hank followed suit and slid in behind him, wrapping an arm around Connor’s stomach. With his body pressed completely against Hank like this, Connor couldn’t help the way his dick reacted, but he kept it to himself. This was no time to try and do anything more than sleep. They were in a stranger’s home, after all.

“Connor?”

Connor searched out Hank’s hand and squeezed it once. “Yeah?”

“What if Markus doesn’t succeed. They’ll come for us.”

That was something Connor didn’t want to think about. His Markus pulled through, and there was no reason to think this one wouldn’t as well. “We’ll run.”

“You can’t run forever.” Hank held him closer. “Connor, maybe you should just turn me-”

“I’m  _ not _ turning you in. End of discussion.”

Hank was quiet. It took a long time, but Connor eventually drifted off to sleep, sure that this wasn’t the last time he was going to be safe in these arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this is a day late!

The early morning light reflected off the snow differently than Connor remembered. Granted, he saw things differently as a machine, but there was something else that was different about this morning. Maybe it was the feeling of hope, or maybe just the fact that he had never been here during the winter. When Markus took him to Carl’s grave after the man died, it had been during spring when the flowers were abundant and the birds loud. 

Something had changed in this timeline and Carl had already passed. It felt wrong and Connor wasn’t too sure how it happened yet. For now, the graveyard was silent save for Sumo’s soft snorts as he chased some kind of bug on the snow between his legs. They were far away from Markus that they couldn’t hear him speaking to the grave, but close enough that Connor could grab him once he was done. This was the only way he knew how to catch him before everything happened.

“He’s moving,” Hank said.

“Wait here.” Connor gave Sumo a ‘stay’ hand motion as he came out from the trees. 

Markus came to a stop, his chin raised, as Connor came closer. “Markus.”

He glanced toward the trees where Hank waited, then back to Connor. “Come to arrest me, Lieutenant?”

“Came to join you, actually.” Connor stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets to keep them warm. “And to ask a favor.”

Markus walked toward him, slowly and with confidence that Connor only remembered him having during the revolution. He actually missed this side of Markus. “A human asks to join our side while hiding his Deviant hunter in the bushes. Did you forget that we’re an intelligent species?”

“I’m hiding my Deviant lover in the bushes,” Connor corrected. “We haven’t removed his LED because he can help you, but you need to help us.”

“I’m listening...”

Connor glanced to the trees and nodded, letting Hank know it was okay to come out. He turned back to Markus. “We need access to Carl’s mansion. It’s the safest place for injured Deviants and I know where at least eight are. If not more.”

“What makes you think it’s safe?”

“Because Carl left it to you in his will, Markus. With the revolution happening, nobody has had time to look at the details except to lock the house up. You can unlock it.”

Markus nodded and something told Connor that the doors were already unlocked. Sure enough, Hank’s LED spun yellow and he looked off in the distance - sending a message no doubt. Connor missed the ability to do that and now understood why it drove his Hank insane. 

“If I do this,” Markus said, “what do I get in return?”

“CyberLife has yet to file me as a Deviant,” Hank said. “I can get into their warehouse and awaken the models there.”

Markus’ eyes widened. “The warehouses? Are you sure?”

“They still trust me and I can get thousands of us.” Hank held a hand out, the skin phasing off. “Let me show you.”

If Connor didn’t trust these two completely, he was sure that the situation would make him uncomfortable. It was then that he understood. The Rogue he had been chasing didn’t want him to understand the dynamics of his relationship with  _ Hank _ , but instead wanted him to understand the dynamics of the relationship between  _ android and human _ . Now that Connor had experienced both, he understood.

Markus and Hank connected their bare hands and Connor felt himself hold a breath in. What he felt was  _ fear _ . As an android, he did this a lot to share private data - touching another android at work was as normal as the sun. Standing here now, watching with emotions he obviously couldn’t control, this was worrying. He knew what they were sharing, but part of his mind questioned it - wondered if it was  _ just _ the warehouse they were sharing.

What if it was information about the department? Or how to get rid of Connor? Or Niles? What if it was the location of the other deviants they hid so Markus could go get them and burn the house? What if, what if, what if? 

The humans hadn’t agreed with the revolution because they fully supported the idea, they agreed because they were  _ scared _ the androids would simply take over if they opposed. And who exactly would stop them? Deviants were off-grid, not even Kamski with his back doors could get at them to bring them down because he didn’t program the doors to swing both ways (unlike Connor’s model). They had sheer numbers over the remaining military forces. Connor knew from experience that they could easily get into secure systems if determined enough.

Markus was good enough as a leader that the androids wouldn’t turn on humanity, but how long would that hold? How long until one of them decided humans had to pay for their past by becoming slaves of the androids? Not just in this world, but in his own?  _ Would _ it ever happen? 

“I think this will work,” Markus said as he pulled his hand away. “Can you do it?”

Connor bit his lip, holding back the scream that threatened to leave his throat.  _ Let the revolution fail _ , he wanted to say.  _ Don’t do this _ ! It didn’t make sense. Just because he was scared of an outcome didn’t mean he had to take away a good thing. Right?

“Of course I can,” Hank said. “It will take me some time to get prepared for it, so I should go now.”

_ Don’t go _ . “Be careful,” Connor said instead, turning to Hank.

Hank leaned over to pet Sumo’s head. “Be a good boy.” He looked back to Connor. “It will be dangerous, but I’ll be fine.”

“If they find out, they will send another Hank unit to stop you.” Connor reached out, resting a hand on Hank’s cheek. Just to feel him one last time.

“They probably will anyway.” Hank pulled Connor closer and into a kiss. “Stay alive for me,” he said once it broke.

“You, too.” Connor kissed him one last time before watching Hank run toward the city. His CyberLife jacket was a little torn and he looked worn, but Hank knew how to handle himself. Or, his Hank knew how to handle himself. Would his new Hank know? Was he prepared to continue being human without him?

Because, like it or not, that’s what he was now.  _ Human _ . Full of emotions and uncontrollable feelings. A fragile body hosting a mind that was both android and human. 

Markus was staring at Connor when he turned back around. The leader of the androids stepped closer. “A human and a Deviant?”

For a moment, Connor thought he had been found out, but Markus didn’t seem threatening about it. He decided to act as though Markus had been talking about himself and Hank and go from there. “There are others like me. I’ve run into a few of them, like the one hiding the injured deviants.” Connor leaned back, toward where Sumo pressed against his legs. “What can I do to help you?”

“Make sure the injured get to Carl’s place okay. Keep the lights off and don’t touch anything.” Markus looked down at Sumo and gave the dog a smile. “I want to go back there when this is all done.”

“I’m sure you’ll do that.” Connor leaned over to scratch Sumo behind his ears. “I’m assuming Hank already contacted the injured and told them where to go.”

“He did.” Markus put a hand on Connor’s shoulder. “Thank you for your help.”

“I should be the one thanking you. Without your leadership, this wouldn’t have happened.” Connor leaned in to give Markus a hug. “So thank you.”

Markus hesitated before returning the hug, squeezing with just enough pressure to make it feel good, but not enough to where it hurt. They silently broke apart and, after a quick nod, went their different ways. With Jericho still intact, Connor knew where Markus would be going, but now Connor had a job to do. He pulled out his phone.

“Rose?” he asked once the line picked up. “It’s me.”

“ _ They told me you have a place. We’re packing now. _ ”

“Good. That’s good, I’ll meet all of you there.”

“ _ Connor _ ?” Connor stopped outside his car. “ _ Thank you. I’m going to drop them off, but then I’m going to the border. _ ”

“Stay safe.” Connor hung up and looked down to Sumo. “We’re so getting fired for this, but you ready?”

Sumo wagged his tail and gave out a bark. Connor scratched his head again before opening the door and letting the dog into the car first.

The revolution was coming, and Connor was more than ready for it this time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No excuse for forgetting A G A I N but that just means that you get fic three days in a row.
> 
> That's right -- two days from now we get another side fic!
> 
> Warning -- we're getting to the end and that's when the game goes nuts. We're going nuts here too!

Connor paced the front hall of Carl’s mansion, trying to ignore the news playing in the den. He didn’t fault the injured from keeping an eye on the news, but he also didn’t want to be reminded that Hank was out there risking everything for this revolution. Not that Connor hadn’t done the same, but the stakes just seemed higher this time. Maybe it was because he wasn’t in the middle of it. He couldn’t even lend a hand this time, not really. Markus had a telepathy thing with the other Deviants, something he only used during the revolution, but it gave the androids an advantage.

It would take precious time to relay a message to Connor. So he would wait, impatiently, for the end.

“I can’t find any candles.”

Connor turned to Liz, one of the few uninjured Deviants from Rose’s place. “Candles for what?”

“It’s getting dark soon,” she said. “We can see, but you can’t.”

The thought was touching, but Connor hadn’t planned on moving from the front room. Still, it gave him an excuse to go out and get rid of his restlessness. He gave Liz a small smile. “Thank you for looking,” he said. “I can run out and get some. Is there anything else we need here?”

Liz shook her head. “Not for us. The food will spoil soon, though. While you’re gone, I can cook up what I can?”

“Sounds good.” Connor grabbed his keys. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t open the door for anyone and make sure the TV screen goes off as soon as light fades.” He grabbed his jacket and went for the door.

“Lieutenant Anderson?”

He paused at the door to look back at Liz. “Yeah?”

“Thank you. For everything.”

For more than they realized. Connor gave her another smile before leaving the house.  Curfew wasn’t for another two hours, so he figured he could drive around until then and hopefully come back somewhat more relaxed. Maybe.

His phone rang and Niles face popped up on the screen. This was  _ not _ the way to relax, but Connor found himself answering it as he got into his car. “Yeah?”

“ _ The station said they sent you home, but you aren’t here. What’s going on, bro _ ?”

Connor tightened his grip on the wheel. “You’re at my house?”

“ _ Wanted to see if you still had your pet Android. They’re rounding them up. _ ”

Connor pulled out of the driveway and held back a curse. “Niles, just go home. Hank is returning to CyberLife.”

“ _ I don’t have any food. Figured I’d raid your fridge. _ ”

“Wait... are you  _ in _ my house?” The sound of the television came on in the background. “Niles!”

“ _ What _ ?”

If CyberLife was going to send another Hank unit, would they try to grab Connor? If so, the first place they’d look was the house. Would the new unit know the difference between the two of them? Would it care?

“ _ Christ, you sound like mom. _ ”

Connor pressed down on the gas pedal, hoping he would make it there on time. “It isn’t safe there, Niles. You have to  _ go _ .”

“ _ It’s only not safe because your big, scary Android friend isn’t here. I bet he would have kicked me out before I stepped on your grass. _ ”

“Niles, I mean it!”

“ _ Whatever. I’m grabbing a shower, hope that’s okay. _ ”

Connor swore as the phone hung up. He sped as much as he could through the rest of the twenty-minute drive, hoping that he wasn’t too late. As much as this version of Niles pissed him off, he didn’t deserve anything bad happening to him.

Nearly all the lights were on in the house as he pulled up. Connor didn’t even bother turning the car off as he jumped out and ran up the steps and through the front door, calling out to Niles. His brother poked his head out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, and just smiled.

Connor rested his hands on his knees, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. They still had time. “Get dressed,” he said, not standing just yet. “We have to go.”

“Can’t a guy relax?” Connor could hear the soft  _ slap _ of Niles’ feet on the tiled floor as he came closer. “Besides, thought you’d be a stickler for the curfew. Doesn’t that come into effect in a bit?”

“This isn’t a joke, Niles.” Connor finally stood up and faced him. “Get dressed.”

“I’m still hungry.”

“I’ll make you food if you just put on some clothes.” Connor pointed to the bedroom. “ _ Go _ .”

Niles sighed and turned to go back to the bedroom. “We’re identical twins, Connor. If you can’t even stand to see me in a towel, how are you going to get laid?”

“I don’t see what that--” The bedroom door slammed and Connor let out a sigh. “Right, food.”

There wasn’t much leftovers in the fridge or cabinets, but Connor managed to throw something together at least. It probably wasn’t going to be the best dinner and Niles would find something to complain about, but it would be edible.

“What’s got you so worried anyway?” Niles sat down at the table. “This isn’t like you.”

“I’m not sure what is me anymore,” Connor said honestly. “Or you.”

“That’s exactly what I mean.” Niles tapped his fingers on the table. “I expected you to get one of your cop buddies here to drag me out. Instead, you show up, tell me it isn’t safe, and make me dinner.”

“Maybe I’ve had a change of heart.” Connor put the plate in front of Niles and went to clean up. “Hurry up and eat.”

“It looks like prison food.”

Connor turned, resting against the counter as he crossed his arms. “What do you  _ want _ from me, Niles?”

Niles poked at the food and gave Connor a half shrug. “If you don’t know by now, it probably isn’t worth mentioning.”

“Niles--”

“You know what? No, don’t worry about it.” Niles pushed the plate away and stood. “I’ll get changed and just go. That’s all you ever ask of me anyway.”

Connor stood as well. “Now I’m asking you to come with me.”

“So you can be the hero of whatever game you made up?” Niles shook his head. “Got enough of that when we were growing up. You were always the hero, the one with the good grades. Me? I was lucky if mom ever  _ looked _ at me.”

Connor had no idea if any of this was true, but he had to do  _ something _ . “I’m looking at you now. Forget mom. She isn’t even here.”

“She left when your friend took her  _ job _ .”

“My friend?”

The front door creaked open and Hank stepped into the house. Niles gave him a disgusted look before turning back to Connor. “That friend,” he said, then stormed off into the bedroom.

Connor looked Hank over - the crisp uniform and kept hair. This wasn’t his Hank. Well, his  _ second  _ Hank. CyberLife knew, then, and Hank was getting close to putting his plan in action. Connor put Nile’s plate next to the sink before stepping around the table.

“Hey, Hank. Thought you were going to be decommissioned at CyberLife.”

“They sent me back here,” Hank said, not moving from his spot by the door. “Our mission isn’t done yet.”

“We were removed from the mission. Did you forget that?” Connor asked as he slowly moved to stand between Hank and the bedroom hall. He looked to Hank’s jacket to read the numbers there.

“True, but we-”

“Your serial number is off.” Connor reached behind him to the gun tucked into his pants. “And you’re unarmed. Did you really think this was going to work?”

Hank closed the door behind him and adjusted his stance. “I don’t want to fight you, Lieutenant. I just want you to come with me.”

“You aren’t Hank.” Connor tightened his grip, but he couldn’t make himself pull the gun out. “I won’t help you stop him.”

Rk800 (because Connor  _ refused _ to call him Hank) stepped closer. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

“I do have a choice. I know your plans, I know what Amanda wants to do with you.” Connor stepped back as well, keeping the same distance between them.  “Don’t listen to her!”

Rk800 tilted his head. “Amanda?”

“She’s testing you. You’ll be decommissioned after this is over. Replaced with a different model. Do you want that?”

“I have no wants,” Rk800 said. “All that matters is my mission.” He looked to the bedroom door, then back to Connor. “Niles is here?”

“You leave him out of it.” Connor prayed to ra9 and God and whoever might be listening that Niles kept the door shut. “This is just between you and me.”

Rk800 stopped moving. “This is between more than you and me. You understand the mission. You  _ helped _ the mission. Take out the Deviant leader.”

“That isn’t the mission any longer.”

Rk800 glanced to the bedroom again as a thump came from behind the door. Connor recognized the move moments before Rk800 had time to move far as soon as the android lunged forward, Connor had the gun out, aiming it at Rk800’s chest. It stopped inches from touching the barrel.

“Stop!” he commanded, stepping to be directly between Rk800 and the door. “I am still the human in command of you. I order you to  _ stop _ .”

Rk800 stepped closer, making Connor instinctively step back again. “You are no longer in command of my actions as you have proven to ignore the mission.”

The gun in Connor’s hand shook with his nerves. “Don’t make me do this,” he pleaded. “Just go, try to stop him on your own if you need to. But  _ please _ don’t make me pull this trigger.”

“I would not be forcing you to do anything, Lieutenant. It is your choice whether or not you shoot me.”

Connor’s foot hit the back wall of the hallway and he stopped, though Rk800 didn’t. He knew he was going to have to do  _ something _ , but could he really do this to Hank’s look alike? Hank had done it easily before - when Connor told him about his son - but this was different. They hadn’t been together then, so it wasn’t as hard for Hank.

Right?

“I really don’t want to harm you,” Rk800 said, stopping when the gun tip pressed against his chest. “Last chance to come with me.”

“No.”

Rk800 reached up to grip the shaking barrel of the gun. “Then you leave me with no choice but to-”

Connor squeezed the trigger, hand shaking harder as Rk800 stumbled back from the force of the shot. It didn’t hit anything vital, but Connor hadn’t been aiming to kill. He just wanted Rk800 to back off, go back to CyberLife without him. When the android got up, face impassive even with the wound in his chest, Connor knew that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Dammit, just stay  _ down _ . I don’t want to hurt you!”

Rk800 tilted his head, a bit of hair falling into his face. “Because you believe I’m alive?”

“No.” Connor gripped his shaking wrist with his other hand, trying to steady himself. “No, because  _ I love him _ .”

Connor pulled the trigger, looking away before he could see the bullet tear through Rk800’s forehead. When the body hit the floor with a  _ thud _ , something in his body rebelled and he felt things in his stomach come  _ up _ rather than down. Realizing he was about to throw up, he stumbled into the bathroom and barely managed to get it in the toilet.

It wasn’t until he felt cool hands on his neck and forehead that he realized he was crying. Niles eased him back and away from the toilet. Pressed against his brother’s chest, Connor let himself cry it out, clinging to Niles’ shirt as he did so. He knew he hadn’t just shot Hank, not really, but he did. It hadn’t been either of his Hanks, but it felt like his Thirium pump regulator was ripped out of his chest again.

“Connor?” Niles rubbed his arm gently. “Hey, it’s okay. Talk to me.”

Connor shook his head, not sure he could get the words out. How would he describe this to a brother who made it clear he didn’t care for androids in the first place?

“Connor,  _ please _ .”

“I love him,” Connor said, gripping onto Niles’ arm. “Not that one, but Hank. My Hank, I  _ love _ him.”

“An... android?”

Connor pushed himself to sit up and wiped at his eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I kind of need to understand. You just shot an android you claimed to love.” Niles leaned back to look down the hall. “He’s pretty dead, too.”

“Stop.” Connor shut his eyes again. “Don’t remind me.”

“You’re going to get a reminder-”

“ _ Niles _ .” Connor rubbed his face. “CyberLife wanted to use me against him. Since he became deviant for me, they think if they put me in peril, he’d save me instead.” He motioned toward the door. “That’s just another unit. He’s a prototype, but they made dozens of him just in case he died. One dies, another wakes up to complete the mission.”

“Damn. So if that one...”

“They might send another, but not to me.” Connor took a steadying breath. “I have to go, but you can’t be here. I don’t want you in danger.”

“I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Niles, for once, just-”

“No.” Niles stood and brushed his pants off. “I may have failed out of the academy, but that wasn’t because I wasn’t any good.” He reached a hand down toward his brother. “Besides, I know you were stopping him from trying to take me, too. Thanks.”

Connor thought about arguing further, but the determined look in Niles’ eyes changed his mind. He reached out and took Niles’ offered hand so he could stand as well. “Together, then. But if we have to shoot another android, hit their knees and ankles. Same as a human. They don’t know any better.”

“Got it. So where’s my gun?”

Connor just shook his head and handed Niles his own. “I’m grabbing my spare, then we’re leaving.”

If they all survived this, Connor had no plans to return to the house. He’d burn it before he had to walk back in and see the dead body of Hank - his Hank or not.


	12. Chapter 12

CyberLife’s tower was quiet as they pulled up to it. It gave Connor an uneasy feeling, as there had been no guards at the gate and now none by the front door. He got out of the car, gun in hand, and made sure he was in front of his brother as they approached the door.

“I thought it would be louder,” Niles said as they got through the front door. “This is just creepy.”

“Just a bit.” Connor felt exposed as they carefully made their way to the elevator. “They must be tracking Hank?”

“Or they fled.” Niles leaned over the railing to look through the trees below. “Who builds a park inside their building?”

“Kamski did it.” Connor quickly checked the elevator before getting inside. “Come on, stop staring.”

Niles slid into the elevator right before the doors closed. “This is kind of cool, though. You and I doing a mission together. Like those video games we used to play.”

“Except one of us could actually die, but sure.”

Niles reached forward and hit the emergency stop. When Connor turned to ask what he was doing, he saw nothing but the barrel of a gun aimed right between his eyes.  He froze.

“Niles?”

“You aren’t Connor.” He cocked the gun. “Where’s my brother?”

Connor raised his hands, making sure his finger was off the trigger on his own gun. “What do you mean?”

“My brother hates video games and wouldn’t have come back for me. He hates androids and actively avoids them.  _ And _ he would have already had me arrested and back into a treatment facility. So I’ll ask again.” Niles moved the gun closer. “Who are you? What color do you bleed?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. It’s been a few days and sometimes I don’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

Connor stared down the barrel of the gun and hoped that Hank got done what he needed to. This revolution counted on him to get the thousands of androids out to freedom. He took a deep breath before speaking.

“Here, I’m human. I don’t know anything about you or myself because where I come from, I  _ am _ an android. I was the android sent by CyberLife to hunt down deviants. You were to be my replacement if I succeeded or failed hard enough.” Connor pointed out the elevator window. “Hank was the officer I was assigned to and I, android and human alike, love him. I also love you and I don’t understand how any form of me couldn’t. You’re my  _ brother _ .”

Niles narrowed his eyes. “You’ve told me some bullshit in the past, but this...”

“I don’t know how it happened,” Connor admitted. “I think it’s some kind of... of alternate reality? Everyone else is the same, every _ thing _ else is the same, except for Hank, Sumo, and us.”

“That’s a tall tale. Prove it.”

How was he supposed to do that? “I woke up here with Hank over me, telling me we had to go check out Eden Club for a case. Which was confusing because Eden Club shut down after the revolution. Not enough workers. I know a lot about people who are here because I know them in my world, too. But you and I? Our past? Niles, I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything. I don’t know how I can prove it.”

He motioned to the door of the elevator. “All right. Tell me what’ll happen here.”

“Hank is about to free thousands of androids who will march to Markus. Markus, if it follows the same, will win this revolution. He will guide androids into a better life.”

Niles shrugged. “Sure, that’s your plan, but-”

“Your name is Niles because your model number is Rk900. An officer in the department, Gavin, called you ‘Nines’ before you decided on Niles.”

Niles hesitated. “Nines?”

Connor nodded. “Yes. He still calls you that sometimes. It’s now a nickname.”

The gun lowered. “That was my nickname through high school. My jersey number was always nine.”

“Soccer?” Connor guessed. When Niles gave him a look, he explained, “My Niles likes to watch it.”

“I still don’t trust you,” Niles said, “but... we’ll see. This whole thing sounds crazy enough that I want to call a doctor-”

“We don’t have  _ time _ for-”

“But I’ll go along for now.” Niles reached up to poke at Connor’s shoulder. “But one wrong move, one weird ass thing, and I’m going to knock you out and take you somewhere to get help.”

“Duly noted.” Connor motioned to the buttons. “Can you start the elevator again? They might send another Hank and I--”

“Yeah, sorry.” Niles hit the button again. “So... If your insane story holds true, you think you’re stuck here?”

Connor shrugged, watching the numbers flash by. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Niles shrugged. “It’s okay. You’re a hell of a lot better than my brother anyway.”

Connor wasn’t sure how to handle that compliment, so he kept silent. He leaned over to stare out of the window, relaxing as they got to the warehouse level and he could see Hank walking among the androids, waking them. He tucked his gun away, glad when Niles did the same, and waited at the elevator doors.

They opened and he didn’t hesitate to run toward Hank. Sure enough, Hank opened his arms and caught Connor as he jumped at him for a hug, holding close.

“I’m so proud of you,” Connor murmured into Hank’s ear. “You did it.”

“What are you doing here?” Hank asked, pulling back just enough to look at him. “I thought you were going to stay at Carl’s.”

“My brother needed help, then I figured you could use some.”

Hank ran his thumb over Connor’s cheek before looking to Niles and giving the man a nod. “We’re just about to go. The guards tried to stop me, but I took care of them.”

“Yeah? One of you-”

“We should go fast,” Connor interrupted. “Just in case Markus needs us.”

“I’ll get the doors.” Hank let his hands drop. “Walk in the middle just in case, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt.”

Connor leaned in to kiss his cheek before stepping back. “We can do that.”

Hank nodded and then turned to run toward the warehouse doors. Niles stepped up next to Connor, watching the androids uneasily.

“You didn’t tell him about the one in your house.”

“He doesn’t need to know right now.” Connor turned, watching the androids form a barrier around them. “They did it.”

“Is that how your events went?”

“Yeah. I ended up arriving with these androids after the humans had given in. Will it help you relax if I say that things get better after this?”

Niles shrugged as they started walking with the army of androids. “Not really, but guess I gotta get used to it.”

“It won’t be that hard, I promise. Just trust them.” Connor patted Niles on the back. “They just want to live.”

Niles gave him a nod and they were quiet the rest of the march. Connor didn’t remember it being as long as it seemed, but at the time he was also determined to get there quickly - they were probably moving at a slower pace simply so he and Niles could keep up. It was appreciated, but Connor was almost tempted to say they would just drive and meet the androids there.

But soon enough the lights of the camps came into sight. As the androids around them stopped marching, Connor took Niles wrist and pulled him up toward the front of the line to see Hank and Markus meet in the street. Markus nodded in his direction and Connor gave him a smile in return.

“Of course you know the deviant leader,” Niles muttered. “How close are you two?”

“Friends. Don’t be rude, you like him.” Connor pulled Niles further. “Come on, he’ll be making a speech soon.”

Sure enough, they didn’t even get to Markus before the group had turned to make their way to a stage near the camp. North and Josh climbed up first with Markus following. Hank hesitated before turning to look at Connor and Niles.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” he said softly. “I thought they might...”

“Send someone?” Niles asked. “They did. It’s dead at the house.”

“It’s fine,” Connor said as Hank looked at him. “Just go. They’re waiting for you.”

Hank reached out to take Connor’s hand, squeezing it once. “We’ll talk after,” he promised. “And maybe someone else can clean up before we go home.”

“We’ll talk after,” Connor agreed, squeezing Hank’s hand once before letting go.

Connor smiled as Hank joined Markus on the makeshift stage, a sea of androids watching them. He stayed close to the stairs just in case - he hadn’t seen any indication of a hack yet, but it was only a matter of time. Unless Amanda already tried and Hank didn’t mention it. Still, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Markus stood in front of his people and squared his shoulders. “Today, our people finally emerged from a long night. From the very first day of our existence, we have kept out pain to ourselves. We suffered in silence...”

Niles put a hand on Connor’s back and leaned in. “Hey...”

Connor looked back at him, away from the speech. “Yeah?”

“I just want to say thanks. You could have ignored me here, but you didn’t.”

“Niles...” Connor turned to pull him into a tight hug. “You’re my brother, no matter what. I’m sorry growing up with me wasn’t great, but I’ll try to make it better.”

Niles let out a breath, returning the hug just as tightly. “You already have.”

They pulled apart and Connor patted his brother’s back before turning back to the speech. Markus looked just as he did before - proud and determined still. Happy that the big fight was over, even if they had many smaller battles ahead. Connor blew Hank a kiss when he looked over, but as soon as he had done it, he realized what was going on.

Hank’s hand was on a gun in the back of his hands and while his arm was jerking a bit, it was still gripping the handle tightly. Just as Connor had been hacked, Amanda was doing the same thing to Hank finally. While Connor had fought it, it didn’t seem like Hank was able to for some reason. The safety was clicked off and the arm was steadier than Connor remembered his being.

Panicked, Connor pushed past Niles and went up the stairs, tripping on the last one. He had to get to Markus first - push him down or roll him away from Hank before he could get shot. With a swear, he scrambled up, yelling out Markus’ name as he did so. The leader of the deviants turned around just in time for Hank’s gun to focus on him and fire, the sound loud in the now otherwise quiet night.

He saw Hank’s face go from cold determination to wide-eyed and scared the moment the trigger pulled. The LED on the site of the android’s head flashed red just as searing pain went through Connor’s chest. He hit the floor of the stage hard, staring up at the night sky.

“Connor!” That was his name and Connor tried to turn to where the voice was, but everything was slow. “Connor, no!”

“Get away from him, you asshole!”

“Connor!”

“Everybody stop!”

Connor reached a hand up just in time for Niles to slide next to him and grasp it. The grip was tighter than Connor expected. On his other side, North dropped down to her knees and pressed her hands against his chest. Connor finally looked down at the red escaping him and wondered why it wasn’t blue.

“Connor...”

“ _ Stay away from him _ ,” Niles snarled, looking over his shoulder. “You did enough.”

That wasn’t right. Connor tried to shake his head. “Hank...”

Niles looked back at him. “What?”

“Not his... not him. Amanda.”

Niles hesitated before looking back over his shoulder. There were more words exchanged, but Connor didn’t bother to try and comprehend them. He focused instead on North, her face already letting him know that he wasn’t going to make it. This wasn’t his world to continue in. He tried a smile, but he knew it didn’t quite work.

His hand was cold as Niles moved, but then Hank was there, taking his hand and running a hand over his forehead. “I’m so sorry,” he said before leaning close and asking, “Why? Why would you do that?”

Connor coughed a bit before he could speak. “Save you,” he said. “Save  _ them _ .”

Hank leaned over, pressing their lips together softly. “Connor...”

“Save them,” Connor murmured. His vision started to black out and he hoped that his last words got out before he knew no more.

_ I love you _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O
> 
> Want to know what happened to Hank? [Read it here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19265695/chapters/45817252)


	13. Chapter 13

Hank sat next to the bed in Carl’s house, hands between his legs and his hair hiding his eyes. He had come every day to stand by and wait for Connor to wake up. While they warned him the damage might be too great for Connor to recover, he still had hope. He had to have hope or else he’d go crazy.

Markus opened the door to the room. “Any changes?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.

Hank shrugged. “No.”

“Niles and Gavin are downstairs. They wanted to let you know that Sumo’s not eating.”

“That isn’t unusual. He misses Connor.” Hank finally looked up. “Is...”

“Offer is always open to bring him here.” Markus gave him a nod. “The younger androids always like to play with him.”

Hank quirked his lips. “I’ll get him tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask Niles to bring him. He’ll be happy to.” Markus rested a hand on Connor’s leg. “He’ll come back.”

Hank could only nod and watch Markus leave the room. The silence stretched over him enough once the door closed that he stood to pace the room. He almost missed it when Connor’s eyes opened - one moment they had been closed and the next they were wide open and staring at the ceiling.

“Connor!” Hank rushed to the side of the bed and took Connor’s hand gently. “Hey, I’m right here.”

Connor blinked at Hank a few times before he realized that not only was he seeing Hank, but he was  _ scanning _ him. Signs of restless sleep, lack of proper diet, a new healing scar on his face that Connor hadn’t seen before - he was  _ home _ . But  _ how _ ? Vision components were in optimal working order. Connor squeezed Hank’s hand before sitting up and feeling his chest where the bullet had hit him. No holes and his body was, so far, also in optimal working order.

“Take it easy,” Hank said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. Hearing components optimal. “You got hit pretty hard.”

Had it been a dream? “What happened?” Voice also in optimal working order.

“You got to the Rogue before any of us, not that it was a surprise. Then the bastard turned and hit you hard with a beam.” Hank leaned forward to press their foreheads together. “Caved nearly half your face in and you just lay there, twitching and losing so much Thirium it scared me.”

Connor reached up to feel the side of his head where the Rogue had put the device. “How long has it been?”

“A few days. Niles grabbed spare parts to repair you while Kamski himself came to make sure your memories stayed intact.”

A few days was long enough for the revolution, but was it real? Connor closed his eyes and leaned further against Hank, who simply wrapped an arm around Connor to pull him closer. He really didn’t care if it were real or not - he was back home now. He was  _ here _ with his Hank.

“We need to get you checked over once more, but then we can go home.”

Connor nodded. “That sounds good. Sumo?”

“Whines at the damn door for you.” Hank tilted Connor’s chin up to give him a chaste kiss. “Don’t you scare me like that again.”

“Maybe we should retire.” Connor licked his lips. Not that he would taste anything, but he  _ wanted _ to. “Kiss me again?”

Hank didn’t even question. He simply leaned in and pressed his lips to Connor’s. Even if it were only a few kisses, Connor  _ missed _ how it felt when he was human. The way his entire body would burn with need for Hank, the way his hands seemed to move on their own to touch him. But now? He had to tell his body how to move. How to respond.

Connor broke the kiss and looked down between them. “I’ll start my own diagnostics if you get someone to look at me. That way we can go home now.”

“Done.” Hank pressed another kiss to Connor’s cheek before getting off the bed. “Be back shortly.”

Connor just wanted to scream. He wanted to  _ feel _ Hank again and this wasn’t good enough. He knew some androids went for the upgrades, but would those be enough? It had to be enough for now or else Connor knew he was going to go crazy. Tomorrow he would call Kamski, ask him further information on the Traci model upgrades and how they could potentially tweak them to be more human. More natural.

Hank deserved it, and Connor needed to feel it again.

The door creaked open and a hooded someone entered quietly. The cloak was familiar, but he couldn’t place just who it was just yet. Then they turned and walked toward the bed, raising a finger to press against where Connor assumed lips would be. Of course, it had to be  _ him _ . Connor tensed as the hood was dropped to reveal the Rogue who simply offered him a sad smile. He debated alerting Markus to the issue despite the silent request to keep quiet, but something made him hesitate.

“What do you want?” he asked instead.

“To let you know it wasn’t a dream.” The human Connor leaned against the door. “Sorry about your face, though.”

“What?”

“What Hank said was true, but the beam didn’t cause your face to break. The device did and I only used it on you specifically because you had backups.”

“I don’t understand.” 

Human Connor looked toward the window. “I put you in my life,” he said. “Don’t know how or why, but when I died during my life, I was able to give one android the opportunity to be a human. I chose you.” He looked back to Connor. “And why you? Because I, too, care for Hank. He loves you, but you weren’t enough.”

Connor wanted to refute that, but he knew that he couldn’t. Not now, not when he saw it from Hank’s side. “I’m not sure I can be, even now.”

“But you’ll learn, and you’ll adapt.” Human Connor hesitated. “They’re coming, so I have to go. I’m only partially sorry for what I put you through.”

“And Niles?”

Human Connor’s face fell. “Seems I have plenty to learn still, too. Thank you for showing me that.” He opened the door. “Goodbye, Connor.”

Connor opened his mouth to return the goodbye, but human Connor was already gone. It didn’t make him feel any better to know that he had been chosen, and he still wasn’t sure how it had happened in the first place, but at least he knew it hadn’t been a dream. Androids couldn’t dream anyway.

The door opened again and soon Connor was running whatever tests the android doctor asked him to. He hadn’t seen this one before, so she must have been new to Carl’s house, but she was efficient. It didn’t take her long to declare Connor well enough to leave and to tell him to rest for a while.

Hank just shook his head and wondered out loud about the benefits of being an android and medical issues. Connor decided not to correct him.

“Niles wanted to see you, but I told him you needed rest,” Hank continued. “He and Gavin are coming by this weekend, though. You up for that?”

“Of course. How is he?”

“Niles?” Hank shrugged, resting a hand on Connor’s back as they made their way down the stairs. “More worried than I’ve seen him since he woke up. Markus, too.”

Connor smiled and reached for Hank’s coat off the rank. He turned to put it on him. “It’s nice to have people who care for you like that.”

“Yeah... I guess it is.”

Connor looked down the hall and smiled wider when he saw Markus and Simon speaking softly to another. They both looked happy and while Connor regretted not saving Simon while he was a human, he was glad that they had each other here still. They worked well together, and Markus seemed to operate better when he was around.

Hank opened the front door for Connor and waved at Markus as the man looked over from his conversation with Simon and North. Markus gave them both a wave before hurrying over and wrapping Connor in a hug.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, pulling back just enough to hold Connor at arm’s length. “You scared all of us.”

“Thank you for helping put me back together.” Connor looked behind Markus to Simon. “It’s good to see you. I mean, it’s good to... Thank you.”

Simon smiled and put a hand on Markus’ back. “You’re always welcome here.”

“Thank you,” Hank said, reaching out to shake Markus’ hand. “We’ll come by again soon, I promise.”

“I look forward to it,” Markus said before Simon pulled him toward the kitchen. 

“I like them,” Hank said, opening the door.

“So do I.” Connor pulled a scarf off the coat rack. “Here.” He wrapped a scarf around Hank’s neck, ignoring his grumbling, then stepped outside and into the sunlight. He was home, he had Hank, and he had a plan to make their lives better. Connor reached back and took Hank’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together. “On our way home, we should stop at that burger place you like.”

Hank arched an eyebrow. “Thought you said that stuff was bad for me.”

“That’s true, but...” Connor looked to Hank. “You only live once, so you might as well enjoy it, right?

Hank snorted, leaning closer to Connor. “YOLO? Christ, I haven’t heard that in years. Do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Never say that again. Let it die as it did in the ’20s.”

The simple joy Connor felt in being able to look up the phrase was ridiculous, but he let himself take joy in it anyway. When he found the definition, he laughed and gently squeezed Hank’s hand tighter. “I’ll let it die,” he promised.

They were quiet the rest of the way to the car, simply enjoying both being together and alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just an epilogue and more side stories left!


	14. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, our end journey. :) I hope you guys had as much fun as I did!
> 
> Again, take a look at my artist's fantastic work on twitter -- username sloormp! I'll put a link up here once I'm better able to edit.

Connor closed the door to the house after they stepped inside. His fingers went into Sumo’s thick fur as the Saint Bernard came up to him, tail wagging and soft whines coming from his throat. Connor  _ missed _ the dog, more so than he thought he ever would. The bloodhound was a good dog, and Connor knew that he would miss him in his own way, but this was  _ their _ dog. This was his Hank’s dog.

Sumo nudged Connor’s leg gently before huffing and going to sit in front of the television. Hank went to the kitchen and Connor followed, resting his hands on the man’s hips and pressing close. Hank froze, hand on the fridge, and looked at Connor over his shoulder.

“Everything okay?”

Connor knew right then that he had to do  _ better _ . Take what he learned in the other universe and put it into action here. Hank deserved it and more.  “I’m fine,” he said, pressing a kiss to Hank’s clothed shoulder. “Glad to be here.”

When Connor slipped one hand around Hank’s waist to pull him closer, Hank let go of the fridge and slid his fingers over Connor’s arm. “Me, too.”

“Hank?”

“Yes, Connor?”

Connor gently turned him around and then pressed Hank up against the fridge. “I love you.”

Hank rested a hand on Connor’s cheek, thumb stroking across the artificial skin. “Connor...”

“I love you,” Connor said again before leaning in for a kiss.

He couldn’t feel anything, not like before, but he could  _ remember _ . Connor ran his tongue against Hank’s mouth until the other man opened, allowing Connor in to deepen the kiss with a soft moan. Hank gripped Connor’s jacket tightly, hips pushing against Connor’s own. Connor broke the kiss then, smiling as he saw Hank’s kiss-swollen lips and glassy eyes.

“Bedroom?”

“Bedroom,” Hank agreed, reaching out to take Connor’s hand. “If you’re up for it.”

“I’m up for it.” Connor tugged Hank out of the kitchen and down the hall. “I’ve been thinking.”

“About what?”

“Meeting with Kamski. Getting a few upgrades.”

Hank stopped just outside the bedroom, tugging on Connor’s hand to get him to stop. He wasn’t frowning, but he did look worried. “What kind of upgrades?”

Connor smiled and tugged on Hank’s hand to bring him over the threshold of the bedroom. “You know what kind of upgrades.”

“Yeah?” Hank looked over Connor’s body. “When did you decide that?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for some time.” Connor pulled his hand free so he could pull off his jacket. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“Sounds perfect.” Hank pulled off his own jacket before moving to his buttons. “You don’t have to do it for me, though.”

Connor pulled Hank flush up against his body. “That kind of talk isn’t  _ sexy _ , Lieutenant.”

Hank laughed before kissing Connor again and walking them back to the bed. When Connor hit the frame, he turned them so he was pushing Hank down onto the mattress. Connor broke the kiss and straddled Hank, hands sliding across the man’s shoulders to keep him pinned to the mattress. With a smile, he gently eased himself down so he was putting pressure on Hank’s growing erection.

“I hear the upgrades come with as many working parts as you want,” he said, shifting his hips to begin friction. “You can finally do more than this with me. I know that’s something you want, Hank.”

Hank gripped Connor’s wrists and tried to thrust his hips up. “Connor...”

“It’s something you’ve wanted for a while, but I didn’t listen.” Connor pressed down a bit harder, pulling a groan from Hank’s throat. “I’m listening now.”

“Shit...”

Connor smiled and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Hank’s forehead. “Let me take care of you, Lieutenant.”

He didn’t wait for an answer -- he just pulled his hands away from Hank’s shoulders and moved them both down to undo the man’s pants. Once his erection was freed, Connor stroked it slowly, letting his fingers put down just the right amount of pleasure. Hank’s eyes squeezed shut and his mouth opened in a silent scream, hips trying to buck under Connor’s hold.

“ _ Please _ ,” he begged, hands scrambling until they found purchase in Connor’s pants. “Connor...”

“Soon,” Connor promised, using his free hand to easily unbutton and open Hank’s shirt.

Usually, they did this naked, but something just felt different. Connor ran his tongue across Hank’s nipple, liking how the man shuddered beneath him. He never paid that much attention to Hank’s various reactions, but after experiencing his own, he couldn’t help but want to just  _ see _ what happened. So he ran his tongue over the nipple again before sucking it into his mouth.

A strangled groan escaped Hank and one hand came up to fist in Connor’s hair. Taking that as a good sign, he let his tongue flick over the bud; a string of curses left Hank’s mouth. Pleased with the reaction, Connor released the nipple so he could shift over to the other one, giving it the same treatment.

Beneath him, Hank was a mess. His erection leaked into Connor’s hand, and the moans refused to stop coming from his mouth. Pleased, Connor ran his tongue down the middle of Hank’s chest until he reached his navel. Hank attempted to spread his legs, but Connor still had him trapped.

He looked up at Hank’s heaving chest and stopped his gentle stroking of his erection. “Hank, look at me.”

After another low moan, Hank managed to pick his head up to look down.

“Soon, this won’t be my mouth your cock disappears into,” he said, then took Hank completely into his mouth.

Above him, Hank sucked in a breath and arched his hips as much as he could. Connor kept his hands gripped in Hank’s pants, keeping him as still as possible as he ran his tongue up the underside of Hank’s dick. He pulled off slowly, swirling his tongue along the tip before diving back in, burying his nose into Hank’s hairs.

Connor moved his head faster along Hank’s erection, focusing on the sounds coming from the other man to judge not only how well he was doing, but how close Hank was. He knew it wasn’t going to take long, not with the way Hank was arching against him. Sure enough, Hank let out another curse before he thrust into Connor’s mouth, releasing.

Connor turned off his analysis, simply enjoying what was given to him. When Hank collapsed on the bed, his breath harsh in the otherwise silent room, Connor pulled away to look at him. Hank’s eyes were closed, but he had a silly smile across his face. Connor made his way back up his lover’s body to look down at him.

“Are you okay?”

Hank let out a laugh before pulling Connor to lay next to him. “Never better,” he said, voice softer as he started to drift off to sleep. “I love you.”

Connor smiled, getting comfortable against Hank’s side. “I love you, too.”

 


End file.
